How do I Lucario?

[Zant]

Back when I'd play SSBB alot, i'd main lucario, however, ever since I started playing P:M, I can't seem to find a main for me, all characters just feel....clunky to me, but, since I mained Lucario I feel he'd be a good start for me.

 

[ShadowGanon]

Just a warning, in Project M, Lucario is drastically different. You may not be able to play him the same way you would play Brawl Lucario.

 

[Zant]

Just a warning, in Project M, Lucario is drastically different. You may not be able to play him the same way you would play Brawl Lucario.

Yeah, I noticed that...

 

[ShadowGanon]

He is much, much more combo based. If you plan on learning how to play as him, you might want to know his cancels.

1. Jab or Dash Attack -> Tilt -> Smash -> Special

2. Aerial Attack -> Special

3. Up Smash -> Jump

Any attack can be followed up with any attack from later in the cancel series; thus it is possible to go directly from a jab to a smash or a special.

 

[CORY]

you'll really need to get some good lab time in to get used to comboes and what works where and when.

preferably, you'll probably have someone help you by di-ing certain ways so you can find your ideal chains for the circumstance, then build from there.

alternately, you could dash attack, then just mash buttons from there and hope to confuse your opponent more than yourself.

 

[ShadowGanon]

Alternately, you could dash attack, then just mash buttons from there and hope to confuse your opponent more than yourself.

I actually did that the other day. I pulled off the most amazing combo in the world, but then I missed the up-B at the end and SDed. lol. Effective, yet not.

 

[Zant]

He is much, much more combo based. If you plan on learning how to play as him, you might want to know his cancels.

1. Jab or Dash Attack -> Tilt -> Smash -> Special

2. Aerial Attack -> Special

3. Up Smash -> Jump

Any attack can be followed up with any attack from later in the cancel series; thus it is possible to go directly from a jab to a smash or a special.

Uhhh.... I don't know what some of those terms mean... Jab? Tilt? Special?

you'll really need to get some good lab time in to get used to comboes and what works where and when.

preferably, you'll probably have someone help you by di-ing certain ways so you can find your ideal chains for the circumstance, then build from there.


alternately, you could dash attack, then just mash buttons from there and hope to confuse your opponent more than yourself.

Um....What's lab time? Sorry, i'm an idiot ;n;

 

[ShadowGanon]

lol. You really don't know much.

jab = neutral A

tilt = tilt the control stick in any direction and press A. Don't mash the control stick over like you would with a smash attack.

special = any move that involves the B button.

 

[Zant]

lol. You really don't know much.

jab = neutral A

tilt = tilt the control stick in any direction and press A. Don't mash the control stick over like you would with a smash attack.

special = any move that involves the B button.

Uh...Control stick is the one you move with, right?
I'm sorry, I use the Classic controller...

 

[ShadowGanon]

I feel as though I'm being trolled really hard. Tell me you're not a troll.

 

[Zant]

I feel as though I'm being trolled really hard. Tell me you're not a troll.

I'm sorry ;n;
This is the reason why I don't join communities... I'm always asking stupid questions...

 

[ShadowGanon]

So you're not a troll? Okay. That means I'll have to teach you from the bottom up.

 

[CORY]

lab time is just a term for like... going into "lab" and "experimenting". it's mostly training mode and just practicing things on cpu's, or using lower lvl cpu's as mobile training dummies. if you have a very patient friend, you can replace the cpu training dummies with said friend.

about tilt, etc...
Smash Terminology 101
everything in smash can be simplified to basic actions, and a direction, for the most part.

for the a button, when you press only a, your character will typically do a quick punch (jab) or a jab combo.

tilts are pretty much what they sound like: just slightly tilt the control stick in your desired direction, and press a. mario, for example, will kick out when you forward tilt. all characters have a forward, down, and up tilt. there is no back tilt, it's just forward tilting in the opposite direction.

smashes are the same idea as a tilt, only you "smash" the control stick as you hit a. like tilts, everyone has an up, down, and forward smash.

specials are your b buttons. they follow the same basic rules: every character has a forward, up, and down special (or [direction]-b).

aerials only come in one flavor, there is no smash or tilt. everyone has a neutral air, forward air, back air, up air, and down air. some neutral airs are called a "sex kick". look at mario's neutral air, that's a classic sex kick. (sex kick is a dumb term from norcal waaaaaaaay back in the day. no real reason for it, it just sticks).

so, now, to make discussions more efficient, most people use a [x]tilt/smash/b/air terminology. so, if you want to talk about forward tilt, just say ftilt. up smash is usmash, etc...

now, for lucario specifically:

lucario can now link his moves up a chain. you can go from jab/dash attack, up to any tilt, to any smash, to any special. you can also go from any aerial to any special. the way lucario works, you cancel the animation for the attack (if it hits, obviously) straight into the startup of the next attack.

sorry if i got a bit too basic for you, i don't mean to be condescending, just wanted to be thorough.

 

[K.Louis]

Dash attack and roll around the C-Stick and press B+R+Z sometimes when they shield and B+A when your hands are glowing

 

[Zoa]

Unfortunately I lack a classic controller on my Wii, so I cannot provide any insight on button combinations. I'll just use the terminology CORY explained instead. Lucario received several major changes in physics you should be aware of. His running speed is now one of the fastest, he falls faster, and in general is significantly quicker overall. If you want to improve your skills, and work on joining the competitive scene, it's very important you learn the fundamentals.

The physics in this are significantly different than Brawl. Melee's physics are being emulated in P:M, and thus open a world of depth. Wavedashing, dash dancing without tripping, increased hitstun, and L-cancel create a significantly faster paced game play. Lucario is one of the characters that thrive from these physics changes. It rewards mobility and combos. Lucario has both.

You will definitely want to practice his on hit cancel system other posters before me have kindly pointed out. It's a major part of his fighting style that is unique to him. Another unique option exclusive to Lucario is a "super meter" every 50% of damage you inflict. The math for it is 1.2x the damage you inflict on an opponent with a clean hit. You get 0.6x of charge if you hit a shield. You can store up to two aura charges. You activate them by pressing the special button and then the jab button shortly after. The specials are as follows:

Aura Bomb: A huge Aura Sphere that travels slowly. It does 25% damage and huge knockback.
Super Force Palm: Force Palm gains KO potential. It sends the opponent down at an angle in the air.
Extremespeed cancel: Pressing the jab button during up special lets you cancel it. You can attack or air dodge after it. No more up special until you hit the ground.
Double Team cancel: Same for Extremespeed, but you keep the invincibility frames Double Team has until it ends, and you only attack out of it.

Lucario has lost the wall cling from Brawl unfortunately, but he still has a very far reaching recovery (way to get back to the stage). He has a lot of options to experiment with. He's definitely a rush down type of character, but it's very important to use the aura charges wisely.

 

[Giygacoal]

Just a few notes:
1. Don't use the old Lucario demonstration video as a reference. It is very outdated.
2. If the only super you ever care about is Aura Bomb, you're doing it wrong. AB is good, but it's the least efficient super most of the time (but again it's still really good).
3. Up taunt (The Akuma taunt) gives you 5% aura charge. Use it between opponents' stocks. Even better, start doing it once you know your opponent can't recover. I don't know if this is a good habit, but sometimes I choose to taunt charge instead of edgeguard (if I'm near the other end of the stage while the opponent is recovering, so I don't get punished) because Lucario kind of sucks at edgeguarding anyway.
4. Regular Aura Sphere's strongest level can only be accessed if it's launched right when it's fully-charged.
5. You can use a charge to aid in recovering. If you need more distance or flexibility, you can up-B cancel and then air dodge. If you want to recover while attacking, you can cancel up-B or down-B and then nair.
6. You can buffer up-B and down-B cancel by holding A while doing the move, and the cancel just activates as soon as the cancel window is in play.

Edit: According to one guy on the official discussion thread, Lucario might actually have great edgeguarding potential.

 

[PcTriumph]

Edit: According to one guy on the official discussion thread, Lucario might actually have great edgeguarding potential.

Personally, I think Lucario has great edgeguarding potential, and many people have found unique ways to edge guard with him.

 

[Daftatt]

I'm sorry ;n;
This is the reason why I don't join communities... I'm always asking stupid questions...

It's cool, I joined smashboards only knowing brawl like an n00b, got better over time.
One important thing I can tell you about lucario is that his down-B (the double team move that makes him blur-dash) should be used to assist in his recovery from off stage, use down-B then up-B (his extreme speed) to recover. UNLESS your hands are glowing, you get your hands glowing by landing hits on opponents, this is called a super-meter. When his hands are glowing you can "cancel" down-B into Dair or down-aerial (he pumps his feet under him, just like in brawl), before he finishes his double team dash (down-B in the air) you can input his Dair and he will glide a long distance while having a damaging hitbox underneath him, this is a very good recovery. When his hands glow you can also hit special-attack (A-B) at the same time to do a spirit bomb, beware of the mario cape and power-shielding.

 

[ViewtifulHoe242]

im glad i saw those posts, i havent laughed that hard in awhile.
i think you should start with the how to play videos that come in brawl and melee before you try to fathom the mega advanced techniques.
how do you not know what the control stick is wtf

 

[IronChar]

hes defs not trolling... he just came from brawl so he wouldn't know.

TC would probably have is has handed to him in tornys.... then again if you get good with lucario...