How do you handle close-quarter combat and short hopped approaches?

[Eyada]

I am curious how Samus users deal with a few situations I am finding problematic.

Close-quarters combat. Samus' jab is quite good in certain situations, especially when you mix up the second hit with D-Tilts and D-Smashes; however, her Grab is a major liability in this area. Performing a Dash Grab (tap the stick and hit Grab rather than simply hitting Grab) alleviates it somewhat as the animation is faster, but her grabbing power is still massively underwhelming in close combat. This is especially problematic due to the fact that it's possible to Perfect Shield the second hit of her jab "combo" (ugh) and Grab her; thus making it unwise to use her jab against opponents who are aware of this. With her jab gone, and her Grab unusable, all she has left is her F-Tilt, which, while amazing, is easily shielded and punished. All of this combines together to drastically limit what Samus can do in melee combat, which leads to being predictable and easily punished.

Short-hopped aerials (D-air, U-air, a quick N-air) can be used against some characters, but anyone with a good U-tilt stops this easily (Meta-Knight, I'm looking at you), and most of the time your opponent can shield your aerial and punish you. As far as I can tell, her only real hope is getting off one of her lagless aerials and then hitting with her jab/F-Smash/F-Tilt (all easily Shielded) or a D-Tilt/D-Smash (also easily Shielded).

Bombs don't explode on contact, so they can't be used quickly enough in a tight situation.

What tactics do you all use to win in close combat? It seems like Samus is lacking pretty much everything that makes a character good in melee combat.

Short-hopped 1-o'clock and 11-o'clock approaches. (i.e., slightly above Samus but too far to the right or left to hit them with U-Smash.) Z-air shuts down most short-hopping very well as long as your opponent is fairly far away from you, but fast opponents can often force their way through and approach with a close-in short-hop at an angle that U-Smash doesn't cover. Can any of Samus' moves (e.g., her U-Tilt) defeat this approach for a large number of characters, or is her only option to shield/dodge/roll?



Any tactics that can help Samus be viable in close-quarter combat would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mars-]

Up tilt .

 

[Gum]

jab, retreating fast fall zairs, up B out of shield, ftilt, jab to dtilt, uncharged shot to grab.

 

[n00b]

As for close quarters combat.. Don't. Shield and up b, just get out of there.. Samus needs space to breathe.

Against aerial approach, I do angled ftilts, utilts, shield->up b, or sh retreating fair and follow their DI. Its long-lasting hitbox allows me to buffer for their entire jump, basically. Samus has enough aerial control to do this.. It works against say when ROB approaches with a sh fair, I just SH and fair as well, but DI backwards to keep the buffer space and by the time his fair is over, my fair's hitbox is strongest so I can counter with that.

 

[ADHD]

Jab cancel jab cancel jab cancel ftilt.

 

[SarahHarp]

For the close-quarters thing, play their game right back. Wait until they use a move, shield/sidestep/do whatever they were doing to you, and then punish them accordingly (even if the punish is only a jab/ftilt/dtilt, sometimes fsmash. Every hit counts.)

 

[0RLY]

Screw Attack beats everything. If it clashes, you should be able to use another Screw Attack before your opponent can do anything else. If you don't think you have the right spacing, jab to Screw Attack. If you're getting too predictable jab, dash away, pivot grab. Remember if you let your opponent succeed in the same approach over and over, you're probably getting too predictable.

 

[Mars-]

A more in depth post:

Samus actually excels in both ranges and CQC. The problem is being smart you have to know which attack to use. If they jump at you up tilt is nice because it hits above you right away. This is also a very nice move when they are on the ground in their shield because it has low lag and hits them slower then most attacks because of the wind up. Jab is nice but I don't ever use it. Dair is nice to you jump over them and down air. Since you landed behind them they now have to do two things to attack you let their shield down and then turn around and attack you only have to turn around and attack. Ohh did I mention your ftilt is amazing ohh would you look at that it turns you around too. If you feel too close do a shorthop away from them and then zair however don't run just to spam because this is pointless you have to fight.

 

[[FBC] ESAM]

What i find that works is dash attacking through them. They usually will try to grab or f-smash on the other side and you get a free whatever you want on them.

 

[MetaRidleyX]

Have you ever played a Metroid game? Samus is never in close doing the fighting, she needs space to work effectivly. She was made the same way in Brawl. Although she can fight in close combat, she's better, much better, at a range. Given she has the space needed to do her thing, Samus can control the battlefield with a nice mix of close and long range.

I advise trying your best to keep some space between you and your opponent. If they arent letting you breathe, hit them with a Zair or two. And there's nothing like short hopping into a Dair and watching them smack the ground with their face.