How do you play Melee?

[Deleted member 189823]

This might actually be a weird question to ask, in the way that I've never seen any newcomer approach it this way. When you play competitive Melee, how is it suppose to play? Coming from Brawl and Smash 4, they have the similiar pattern in which you're constantly trying to get over a wall, break someone's neutral and get a little combo in or two (if possible). A lot of times it's really just stray hits with no emphasis on anything.

From what I could tell, in Melee you kind of just Dash Dance in and out of people's range, forcing them to commit to something. Is that it?

I'm looking for somewhat of a simple approach and objective during the match. Do you go for safe stray hits until you can get a nice combo, or do you do your best to force them off the stage to a gimp? And how important is Crouch Cancelling?

 

[KirinKQP]

I like to focus on patterns and mistakes I notice then try to approach and keep note as to how they respond. I sometimes will keep putting out hitboxes to see how they react as well and train them so they will attempt it again and have no fear. That, and pressure with something like spaced B-airs and edge guarding. That, or I am trying to not get killed at 60 by a Fox.

 

[X WaNtEd X]

From what I could tell, in Melee you kind of just Dash Dance in and out of people's range, forcing them to commit to something. Is that it?

This is one of the common ways people try to win neutral, especially with characters with a strong dash dance game. But this is by no means the only way people play neutral. Sometimes, it's just a matter of making the other person shield and then baiting out the right option to punish. Sometimes you can just brute force your way through the shield. Sometimes you win by committing when your opponent is caught off guard. Sometimes you try to force them into a bad position, like putting them on platforms above you and catching them in the air with something. It really depends.

I'm looking for somewhat of a simple approach and objective during the match. Do you go for safe stray hits until you can get a nice combo, or do you do your best to force them off the stage to a gimp?

If you're good, you'll do both. It really boils down to who you play, what the matchup is, and what your playstyle is. Floaty characters, for example, are rarely gimped. Those matchups usually involve a lot of stray hits. Fast fallers on the other hand are susceptible to gimps, so you'll often see people go for them in those matchups. The trade-off, however, is that gimps usually require a read, where as the combos you can start with some characters will technically go to death. But because combos are often hard to pull off consistently, it's a question of how confident you are as a player when you're deciding whether to go for a gimp or go for a combo. Sheik, for instance, runs into this dilemma a lot with her grab on fast fallers. She can tech chase all of them on reaction into death. But if she throws them off the stage, she has a chance of killing them outright with far less work if she gets a read or reacts to a bad recovery. My point is, Melee is too complex for a simple approach to get you very far.

And how important is Crouch Cancelling?

Very. It pretty much dictates how neutral is played at higher levels. Once you break a character's crouch cancel to knockdown threshold, you unlock more moves that are safe to use in neutral. People will exploit this against each other and play different styles depending on the percents and the matchup. It plays a larger role in some matchups and characters than others, of course. Heavy characters like Falcon and Samus benefit a lot from crouch canceling. It's really important for spacies too because they have such a fast move (shine) to use out of it that sets up for long combos in many matchups. Sheik, Marth, Puff, and many other characters with a strong grab game will often crouch cancel grab in neutral.

Additionally, crouch cancel is important in the defense aspect of the game. If you're a spacie on a platform under a Marth, for example, crouch cancelling their utilt or uair can be the difference between taking a hit and eating a meaty combo. Sometimes at high percents, you can use crouch canceling to make your character fly far away from your opponent on the ground so they can reset to neutral without being pressured or tech chased.

 

[Captain Phobos]

It really depends of who you're thinking of picking up. For people newer to Melee, I would say try playing as Falcon, but if you feel skilled enough to play someone like Fox, you can actually learn a lot from watching pro matches. I'm able to see exactly what they're doing, but if you want you can slow down the videos and really see the moves they're pulling off.

 

[Happens2u]

The neutral game in Melee is similar to that of Brawl/Smash 4 but it just has a different set of options to choose from on both sides. I'd say more in fact. The way to play neutral isn't just dashdancing and getting your opponent to commit. I used to think this but it's not true. It's about applying pressure to your opponent and dealing with your opponent's pressure. If someone has a predictable dash dance then you can just hit them out of it. What are they doing out of their dash dance? If it's a grab, when they run at you spotdodge or attack. Hit where you think they'll be. Apply pressure to your opponent by standing at ranges where their moves aren't going to hit. Not every character has a good dash dance either, so sometimes what you do is wavedash at varying lengths and throw out pokes (like Samus or ICs).

As far as crouch cancelling, it's very important. Knowing when to crouch cancel can turn you eating a death combo into you performing a death combo.

 

[ThatKawaiiGuy]

I like to really play offensively than defensively, I rarely hold shield unless it's required, I like to tech chase up-smash as Fox a lot, and I often approach with n-air since it's a really good option most of the time. I should probably find more balance though as a lot of the time I tend to just head into an approach when it might not even be the time to do it.

A really important thing is finding that balance, where you can be offensive without losing defense, and play it safe without missing out on punish opportunities.

 

[-ACE-]

Gimp setups are a way of "skipping" neutral. M2K does this a lot when camping ledge. Although his neutral game is beast, it's actually lacking in comparison to his insane punish game. If he can lure you into making a simple mistake (like getting too close where he can ledgehop needle into grab) he can turn that into a fatal one without dealing with all the decision making of winning neutral. You want to encourage setups that allow you to use your heaviest punishes. As a Ganon player, it's much easier to for me to land a bair, but if I can bait someone into doing something that's punishable by stomp or grab, the reward is much higher. You often have to choose your options according to what your opponent allows you to do, especially if you are fighting a character faster or more agile than yours. Dash dance is obviously a great option in general, coupled with wavedashing to adjust your positioning when options out of dash aren't necessary. This keeps your dash on tap, which is almost always better than entering run.

 

[iAmMatt]

Don't get hit.
-God himself

Just kidding, but the first thing you should master is basic tech skill: wavedashing, l cancelling, etc.
The wall you talked about in sm4sh and brawl is present in melee, but it is much less present if that makes sense. Characters who put up a lot of aerials create physical in game barriers that you need to get around. This is where forcing them to approach comes in handy. Grounded characters dash dance much more, like you talked about. This is where outspacing them and baiting out grabs can come in handy. Look at hitboxes to know how far away from each character you have to dash dance.

 

[SyaoranLi]

With a controller.
JK

but seriously learn some tech > improve neutral game > play for more than 2 years > watch replays, get 20xxTE if you can so you can save your replays and watch your performance.

 

[JFB (JurgaBurgaFlintines)]

Play however you want. You can do whatever you want in competitive Melee, to an extent. Obviously you can't F-Smash someone repeatedly, but you get the point.

 

[SyaoranLi]

Play however you want. You can do whatever you want in competitive Melee, to an extent. Obviously you can't F-Smash someone repeatedly, but you get the point.

I mean you could, it's just frowned upon. Also you need to account for DI. But theoretically you could.

 

[ChivalRuse]

I mean you could, it's just frowned upon. Also you need to account for DI. But theoretically you could.

Most characters' fsmashes are unsafe both on whiff and block (and at low percents on hit/crouch cancel). If you do nothing but fsmash in neutral, most people will adapt and start punishing you.

 

[SSBM Tao]

This might actually be a weird question to ask, in the way that I've never seen any newcomer approach it this way. When you play competitive Melee, how is it suppose to play? Coming from Brawl and Smash 4, they have the similiar pattern in which you're constantly trying to get over a wall, break someone's neutral and get a little combo in or two (if possible). A lot of times it's really just stray hits with no emphasis on anything.

From what I could tell, in Melee you kind of just Dash Dance in and out of people's range, forcing them to commit to something. Is that it?

I'm looking for somewhat of a simple approach and objective during the match. Do you go for safe stray hits until you can get a nice combo, or do you do your best to force them off the stage to a gimp? And how important is Crouch Cancelling?

I think the beautiful thing about melee is that playstyle is so diverse. Any one option that your opponent chooses has infite responses to counter. Competitive smash 4 to me is like a mini game of putting up a wall, covering options, and committing to an option. But unlike smash 4, emphasis on any strength you have can become a viable playstyle for you. Ex: great conditioning, platform move ment, gimp ability, or punish game. There is no "name of the game" like there is with any other game like chess, cs:go and overwatch. There is nothing specific that you need to do to be successful in melee, which is why it takes so much work to be good. For example, I like to use a mix of pressure and patience, forcing my oppose to approach and commit to an option, but also mixing up shield pressure options and using platform move ment. Use your strengths bro.