How do you get better at this game?

[Wintermelon43]

As the title says. Just praticting simply doesn't work. I don't get the tiniest bit better. Neither does asking for advice on what to do better, doesn't change anythibg. Is there anything else I could possibly do to get better?

 

[Seniks]

As the title says. Just praticting simply doesn't work. I don't get the tiniest bit better. Neither does asking for advice on what to do better, doesn't change anythibg. Is there anything else I could possibly do to get better?

Learning how to effectively practice isn't the same as practicing. I've had the same problem for a while now. There's essentially 3 ways to improve in the game:
1. Mental game
2. Data
3. Tech

I would categorize their priority 60/25/15
You can learn about your character, tactics people might say work, and frame data, but still not be getting better if you're not good at fundamentals and the nuetral. Essentially, if you always win the nuetral, you'll always be ahead of your opponent. Learning everything else just optimizes. It's kinda hard for someone else to teach you mental play. The biggest issue with this, is that everyone has a different playstyle and tactics, so things that you'll do that will work on one won't work on another player. This is the underlying problem. There are too many different playstyle so using only one yourself is a recipe for disaster. It's not impossible, but remembering not just moves and characters, but tactics and play styles will give you an edge. Get into a player's mentality and use the safest moves you can.

 

[KirbCider]

As the title says. Just praticting simply doesn't work. I don't get the tiniest bit better. Neither does asking for advice on what to do better, doesn't change anythibg. Is there anything else I could possibly do to get better?

Firstly, you're wrong about practicing. You can look up combo videos, read all sorts of character guides, and more all day long but in the end you have to practice what you have read/learned in order to get better. Do you think people just pick up a controller and suddenly be a pro or what? What do you think people do exactly to get better? It just happens? No, it's because people have practiced and played the game a lot to get where they are. This can be said for anything. Drawing, cooking, anything. You name it.

You have to put in a lot of effort and time in order to get better at something. It's not some magical thing that just happens. If you do not practice you do not gain experience, therefore you do not get better. Studying and looking things up do help, but again you have to put in your own time and effort to improve. Also, if asking for advice doesn't change anything then why are you asking for our advice?

Are you gonna take what any of us tell you seriously since our advice wouldn't change anything or help...? Seriously.

I can understand it can be very frustrating when you want to get better at something but you feel like you can't. We, or at least, most of us go through that. You aren't alone there at all; however the more frustrated you get the more you are going to feel like you aren't improving. If you feel like practicing and asking for advice will not help, then I guess you just aren't going to get any better then.

I hate to sound rude and I'm honestly not trying to sound mean in the slightest, but sometimes a little tough love goes a long way.

Practice, and do not say advice will not help you. If that is how you feel then don't ask for it.

 

[TheRedLemming]

As the title says. Just praticting simply doesn't work. I don't get the tiniest bit better. Neither does asking for advice on what to do better, doesn't change anythibg. Is there anything else I could possibly do to get better?

Go to events, get bodied until you stop getting bodied.
Play against people who will give you proper constructive criticism, take that constructive criticism and apply it to your gameplay. Do not say "advice doesn't change anything." Unless you're willing to also say "I never accept advice for what it is and attempt to apply it into my gameplay."
Because that's what you're saying.

Practicing works to a degree, particularly, it can help you be more consistent with what you are uncomfortable with. Next it can help you learn new stuff against a mostly stationary opponent.

 

[TeddyBearYoshi]

Thought this would be helpful.

 

[Turrin]

People have asked this question so many times that I went back and found one of my old responses that I'm actually going to copy/paste right here, and I will continue to do so every time someone asks how to get better:

As a player with quite a bit of experience on trying to improve, here's the basic stuff that has helped me immeasurably:

1. Fight level threes. Get your combos down so freaking hard that you don't even think about doing them. With Fox for example, Downthrow --> F-air 50 times. If you mess up once, start over. Short-hop N-air 50 times in a row. Just get comfortable with your specific character.

2. I can't exactly tell you to just flip a switch in your brain, but stop caring about winning in For Glory matches. Seriously. The thing that's helped me is to switch your focus - it's not the win ratio that marks your improvement, but the total number of matches. It doesn't matter how bad you are now - if your total match count goes up, your win rate will slightly increase along with it, because it's not like you can get worse at the game by practicing.

3. I've started uploading a few of my matches to Youtube so that I can analyze and pause the video. Record yourself playing a match and every time you get hit, stop the video and ask yourself (for example):
"How did that Falcon hit me with a charged F-smash? Because I thought he'd back roll. From now on, I should wait for my opponent to actually commit to something before going to punish."

4.

https://www.youtube.com/user/shadowstar120

I don't know if you've watched any of his videos, but Jtails is the most educational Smash streamer out there, in my opinion. While he's in the middle of a match, he'll take the time to explain what's smart in a certain situation and how he figures out what his opponent is going to do. It's much better than watching random matches with no commentary. He's probably put out a video on Kirby if you want to look for it.

 

[Wintermelon43]

People have asked this question so many times that I went back and found one of my old responses that I'm actually going to copy/paste right here, and I will continue to do so every time someone asks how to get better:

As a player with quite a bit of experience on trying to improve, here's the basic stuff that has helped me immeasurably:

1. Fight level threes. Get your combos down so freaking hard that you don't even think about doing them. With Fox for example, Downthrow --> F-air 50 times. If you mess up once, start over. Short-hop N-air 50 times in a row. Just get comfortable with your specific character.

2. I can't exactly tell you to just flip a switch in your brain, but stop caring about winning in For Glory matches. Seriously. The thing that's helped me is to switch your focus - it's not the win ratio that marks your improvement, but the total number of matches. It doesn't matter how bad you are now - if your total match count goes up, your win rate will slightly increase along with it, because it's not like you can get worse at the game by practicing.

3. I've started uploading a few of my matches to Youtube so that I can analyze and pause the video. Record yourself playing a match and every time you get hit, stop the video and ask yourself (for example):
"How did that Falcon hit me with a charged F-smash? Because I thought he'd back roll. From now on, I should wait for my opponent to actually commit to something before going to punish."

4.

https://www.youtube.com/user/shadowstar120

I don't know if you've watched any of his videos, but Jtails is the most educational Smash streamer out there, in my opinion. While he's in the middle of a match, he'll take the time to explain what's smart in a certain situation and how he figures out what his opponent is going to do. It's much better than watching random matches with no commentary. He's probably put out a video on Kirby if you want to look for it.

I tried number 4 but his most recent video on Kirby was from January.......

 

[Smudges]

I tried number 4 but his most recent video on Kirby was from January.......

Have you tried 1, 2, or 3? If not, go do so now. Training mode helps. In order to get better, practice is the only way. Win or lose, the fact that you are playing counts and helps you get better. Get your combos down, and make sure they are consistent.

If you're playing on For Glory, try to analyze why you're getting hit. It doesn't even matter whether you lose, if you get information out of it, you will improve as long as you act on it. Are you always rolling in a certain direction? Do you fail your techs? Miss combos? Whatever it is, find it and fix it.

 

[Cylent]

There are tons of guides/videos on improving your game.
My advice is to make sure you study yourself, not just other players. Save your replays, every time you see room to improve and write it down. Next time you play focus on improving 1-2 things on your list. Once you see you're starting to do better make it muscle memory to always perform that way. Once you feel comfortable with your improvements move on to the next thing(s).

Also, take breaks. This allows for more to become muscle memory. I typically take a few days off after a tournament.

Good luck with your training.

 

[Br0ken]

My story on becoming the very best:

One morning, I woke up to a note on my night table. It was addressed to me and said this:

Dear Bakery (my tag),

Git good.

Sincerely,

Daddy Sakurai, Prophet Estabon, Regginator

So I made it my mission to "git good." I spent hours and hours watching videos and reading guides on various techniques, playstyles and even outfits to wear while playing. However, experience has taught me that I could only get better by applying what I've learned. I went to training mode and practiced what I learned day-in and day-out, I then went to smash mode and practiced against a level 9 cpu until I could beat it consistently. Once that was done I went on For Glory and beat every player in the world. Then earlier this year I went to EVO and defeated everybody in friendlies. I was unstoppable. On top of the world. I then got a letter one morning that was addressed to me:

Dear Bakery,

Congratulations, you have officially gotten good, there is no turning back now. Just be careful of any nerfs

Sincerely,

Greninja

I was confused, what did they mean nerfs? Did they mean nerfs to my main? The next morning I woke up in a hospital room. A doctor told me that I lost all my fingers and there was no chance of recovery or reattachment.

You read right, I was so good that I was nerfed in real life.

That is the story of how I got good.

 

[Wintropy]

Go to tournaments. Fight people. Get beaten. Ask why you got beaten. Get feedback. Try again.

Going to tournaments and fighting good players that will offer you feedback in person is, in my opinion, the best and most enjoyable way to improve. You can meet very interesting people and pick up great tips if you're willing to go to competitive events.

If you can't make it, ask somebody to take you there. If there are no tournaments in your scene, make your own. If neither option is possible, get on Smashboards, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites and contact people in your region to play on wi-fi. It's not as efficient as playing in person, but if you can talk to them directly about how you did and how you can get better, it will be a big help.

 

[Wintermelon43]

Go to tournaments. Fight people. Get beaten. Ask why you got beaten. Get feedback. Try again.

Going to tournaments and fighting good players that will offer you feedback in person is, in my opinion, the best and most enjoyable way to improve. You can meet very interesting people and pick up great tips if you're willing to go to competitive events.

If you can't make it, ask somebody to take you there. If there are no tournaments in your scene, make your own. If neither option is possible, get on Smashboards, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites and contact people in your region to play on wi-fi. It's not as efficient as playing in person, but if you can talk to them directly about how you did and how you can get better, it will be a big help.

No Tournament scene, nobody that plays smash lives near me. So how am I sopposed to go to a tournament? Espicially considering my mom would almost defitenly not take me there, and i don't have a driver's license.

My story on becoming the very best:

One morning, I woke up to a note on my night table. It was addressed to me and said this:

Dear Bakery (my tag),

Git good.

Sincerely,

Daddy Sakurai, Prophet Estabon, Regginator

So I made it my mission to "git good." I spent hours and hours watching videos and reading guides on various techniques, playstyles and even outfits to wear while playing. However, experience has taught me that I could only get better by applying what I've learned. I went to training mode and practiced what I learned day-in and day-out, I then went to smash mode and practiced against a level 9 cpu until I could beat it consistently. Once that was done I went on For Glory and beat every player in the world. Then earlier this year I went to EVO and defeated everybody in friendlies. I was unstoppable. On top of the world. I then got a letter one morning that was addressed to me:

Dear Bakery,

Congratulations, you have officially gotten good, there is no turning back now. Just be careful of any nerfs

Sincerely,

Greninja

I was confused, what did they mean nerfs? Did they mean nerfs to my main? The next morning I woke up in a hospital room. A doctor told me that I lost all my fingers and there was no chance of recovery or reattachment.

You read right, I was so good that I was nerfed in real life.

That is the story of how I got good.

Why didn't they do this to Sheik yet?

 

[Wintropy]

No Tournament scene, nobody that plays smash lives near me. So how am I sopposed to go to a tournament? Espicially considering my mom would almost defitenly not take me there, and i don't have a driver's license.

I did say that you can use wi-fi as a contingency. It's a bit trickier than playing in person (due to input delay and connectivity issues), but if you can't go to tournaments, then it's a good option. I'd recommend avoiding For Glory and instead playing people you know and whom you can speak to about the match; you don't get feedback on For Glory, so while it's a good way to practice tech skill or just to play recreationally, it isn't the best option.

If your parents won't take you, you can try to use public transport or see if your parents will be okay with another friend or relative taking you. If they're worried about your safety, you can get them or somebody you trust to stay with you for the first few events until they're okay with it.

Out of interest, have you tried going to regional Smash pages on Facebook or other sites? You can very often find people nearby that you didn't even know play. That might be a good place to begin.

 

[Wintermelon43]

I did say that you can use wi-fi as a contingency. It's a bit trickier than playing in person (due to input delay and connectivity issues), but if you can't go to tournaments, then it's a good option. I'd recommend avoiding For Glory and instead playing people you know and whom you can speak to about the match; you don't get feedback on For Glory, so while it's a good way to practice tech skill or just to play recreationally, it isn't the best option.

If your parents won't take you, you can try to use public transport or see if your parents will be okay with another friend or relative taking you. If they're worried about your safety, you can get them or somebody you trust to stay with you for the first few events until they're okay with it.

Out of interest, have you tried going to regional Smash pages on Facebook or other sites? You can very often find people nearby that you didn't even know play. That might be a good place to begin.

Wi-Fi, I don't know how to use for a tournament, without the crappy free-for-all thing.

What you said in the second paragraph won't change anything

Never tried the third paragraph, maybe I'll check that out sometime

 

[Wintropy]

Wi-Fi, I don't know how to use for a tournament, without the crappy free-for-all thing.

Don't use Tournament mode. Contact people directly and organise 1v1 matches.

 

[Pale Tuna]

Find a character you absolutely enjoy and can play proficiently with and then try to learn all the nooks and crannies said character offers. Learn MUs between your character and the rest of the cast and then choose a character that covers the holes of your other character and learn that character as well.

 

[Gemba Board]

1. Play. A lot. And not just in practice mode. Play with friends, play with their friends,play whoever. You will naturally develop.
2. Go to events/tournaments. The larger the event the better. When you have opportunities to meet and play groups of smash players, do it. You will learn a lot.
3. Watch match videos and learn the current state of the metagame. Follow certain players so you can kind of join them on their journey to the top. You can learn a lot once you find a player to watch that you can directly relate to; may that be through the main you share or through playstyles. With this game, knowledge of characters, stages, moves, game mechanics, etc can take you a long way.
4. Learn match ups! Learn which match ups your character has trouble with and study it. If your character goes 3:7 in favor of fox, find fox mains local and/or online and play them all until you understand that match up. Don't be afraid to develop secondary characters to cover your main's bad match ups.
5. Pick shiek.

 

[Wintermelon43]

1. Play. A lot. And not just in practice mode. Play with friends, play with their friends,play whoever. You will naturally develop.
2. Go to events/tournaments. The larger the event the better. When you have opportunities to meet and play groups of smash players, do it. You will learn a lot.
3. Watch match videos and learn the current state of the metagame. Follow certain players so you can kind of join them on their journey to the top. You can learn a lot once you find a player to watch that you can directly relate to; may that be through the main you share or through playstyles. With this game, knowledge of characters, stages, moves, game mechanics, etc can take you a long way.
4. Learn match ups! Learn which match ups your character has trouble with and study it. If your character goes 3:7 in favor of fox, find fox mains local and/or online and play them all until you understand that match up. Don't be afraid to develop secondary characters to cover your main's bad match ups.
5. Pick shiek.

Could you remove the 5th one? I take it as an insult when somebody tells me to pick Sheik or ZSS (Not for anyone else though)

 

[Foxus]

Ah, the million dollar question. I often wonder if that question could truly be answered spending a day training with Sakurai.

Joking aside, still training myself, I don't know how much I can help you. What I will say though is, from my experience, its a lot of going about gaming trial and error style. You don't know what works until you try it.While others may give bulleted lists, I'll try explaining what I think might help.

This is just me speaking though, but if you're a hands-on learner (and gaming tends to be a hands-on learning experience), you can wear your eyes out reading guides and watch videos all day, but if you don't actually take that to the controller so-to-speak, it won't sink in (which then, I recommend gaming with someone who has a higher skill level, and communicate between matches. It may be more effective, getting real time feedback).

Going to tournaments is a personal decision. Its whether you want to train publicly, or train privately. If you feel in any way insecure about your playing, I suggest training privately. That way, you are in the comfort of your home, and you are not vulnerable to any humiliation from the general public being in a public surrounding. Coming from someone who is insecure himself, the first choice can be rather therapeutic.I suggest to anyone asking for advice they train privately from home until they have boosted their confidence in their performance.

As for the character suggestion, only you can choose the character that is best fit for you. I used Yoshi for years, Fox secondary until Smash 4 came out (when I was dissatisfied with Yoshi's performance, but we needn't get into that here).

Keep in mind Smash can be a game of chance and mind-reading, even for pros. The chances of winning aren't as fat as playing the lottery, but they aren't as easy as winning a minigame in MP. Smash is a fast paced game, the gamer constantly having to make split-second reactions (I compare it to two cars coming in for a head on collision at 50 mph each, and trying to avoid that collision). That's generally how fast you need to react on a normal basis, especially online. Otherwise, you can easily be a opponents lunch.

Don't let that scare you though, it'll eventually come as habit kicks in. I'm still aiming for that myself.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mr.Seven]

Practice. Practice. PRACTICE.

You're not going to get good overnight. I currently have over 500 hours clocked in on Smash, and I'm still learning new things. (Did you know that Little Mac's KO Punch can reach under ledges?)

Watch matches that include the character you want to main. Take a few pointers, but don't try to imitate their style. Adapt it to your own. Just last week, I learned a sick air combo with Mac that kills at 70%. I have trouble pulling it off, so I'm only using it in Training Mode until I feel comfortable using it in action.

Abuse the ever living heck out of Training Mode. It's there for a reason, and that is to git gud.

Watch some combo guides, it'll help you setting up chains and finding the opportune moments to punish. It'll also give you pointers on what moves aren't safe on block and which are.

Practice isn't the thing you do when you get good. It's the thing you do that makes you get good. Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong!

 

[Swampertrulz]

Usually tutorial guides, and practicing against people for fun.

 

[KurashiDragon]

Playing against opponents who use the same character is an easy way to get better quickly. Learning tips and tricks through practical means and all that. Apart from that, having people to play with is also a way to get better. Tips and tricks can get you far but usually it's best to simply ask people how to improve your play after you play them. It doesn't really matter if it's online or irl, just ask people how they believe you can improve after the fight. Finally, save your replays. You never really know your doing something wrong in the moment. More often than not, you have to look at yourself playing to get a grasp on how to improve.

 

[Zi^]

just play the game.

 

[Wintermelon43]

Okay so now I'm serisualy having problems. I'm trying to get better, but the more I play, the WORSE I get, I litertatly get two stocked 95% of my games even as my own main. So how the hell do I get better, when I only get WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE?

 

[Foxus]

Okay so now I'm serisualy having problems. I'm trying to get better, but the more I play, the WORSE I get, I litertatly get two stocked 95% of my games even as my own main. So how the hell do I get better, when I only get WORSE AND WORSE AND WORSE?

There's a certain thing out there called "Smash Fatigue." Take a day or two off, then come back.

Remember, Smash is undoubtedly one of the most difficult games to pick up in the gaming realm.

Get some fresh air, then come back sniffing for blood from your opponents.

 

[Wintermelon43]

There's a certain thing out there called "Smash Fatigue." Take a day or two off, then come back.

Remember, Smash is undoubtedly one of the most difficult games to pick up in the gaming realm.

Get some fresh air, then come back sniffing for blood from your opponents.

"1 or 2 days"

I'm gonna be on vacation starting tomorrow anyway so........

Which makes things worse, since the last time i went on a week-long vacation, I had to drop a character because i sucked so bad as him after that. But whatever.

 

[Foxus]

"1 or 2 days"

I'm gonna be on vacation starting tomorrow anyway so........

Which makes things worse, since the last time i went on a week-long vacation, I had to drop a character because i sucked so bad as him after that. But whatever.

Don't even worry about Smash, it may have merely been coincidental the last time around.

Audition a few different characters if you feel the same thing is going to happen again. One of them has to be perfectly tailored for you.

 

[ScarletRed012]

Ever heard of Anther's Ladder? (if nobody else had mentioned it). It's a pretty neat way to verse others and make friends. Instead of worrying about stupid lag or dumb wins/losses you're playing against people in a community. It's pretty neat because you can match make and play in a specific tournament-style match. You just have to be honest - What do I mean by that? Your matches on the site go off based upon what you input as a win or loss. If you're honest, it's a very very awesome tool to use to make friends and improve. You can go best of 3, best of 5, or endless matches until you get tired haha. Try it out, it's really cool. (i found this out from Omni on the front Smashboards page)

 

[Wintermelon43]

Ever heard of Anther's Ladder? (if nobody else had mentioned it). It's a pretty neat way to verse others and make friends. Instead of worrying about stupid lag or dumb wins/losses you're playing against people in a community. It's pretty neat because you can match make and play in a specific tournament-style match. You just have to be honest - What do I mean by that? Your matches on the site go off based upon what you input as a win or loss. If you're honest, it's a very very awesome tool to use to make friends and improve. You can go best of 3, best of 5, or endless matches until you get tired haha. Try it out, it's really cool. (i found this out from Omni on the front Smashboards page)

How does the matches work? Cause I don't to have to add somebody as friends every time I play, nor have over 200 random people from anthers ladder

 

[ScarletRed012]

How does the matches work? Cause I don't to have to add somebody as friends every time I play, nor have over 200 random people from anthers ladder

That's unfortunately the only way to do that I feel. You can always delete people after the matches. That's what I'm probably going to do if a person doesn't seem friendly/talkative enough.