How does one practice effectively?

[BuTR]

I play with my brother everyday and we go to locals frequently. I go 0-2 while he places highly every time. He's even top 25 in my regions PR and I'm stuck down in the 80s/90s. When we practice how can I more effectively learn and develop as a player? What are some things to keep in mind and think about while we play? I'm just not sure how to go about thinking while practicing. My last question is how effective is Anther's ladder for practicing? Should I be on there everyday that my brother isn't available or should I stick with my local scene?

Thanks guys!

 

[DKGrayson]

Hey man, I am positive that I'll be newer to smash (never played Melee, only briefly played brawl).

I've been going back to basics as far as training mode where I'll short hop fast fall and not stop until I've done it 100 times without making a mistake, then add nairs, fairs, etc.

I used tips on here that suggest playing against a level 3 cpu to get off combos etc.

I play both for glory and on Anthers ladder and always ask opponents for any obvious flaws in my game, and let them know to be as brutal as possible.

I'll do things to try and break bad habits, like over using rolls and smash attacks. So I'll play games where I don't let myself roll at all, or ban myself from using f smash.

 

[DaDavid]

DK definitely has some good points. If it's your fundamentals that need help then yeah, practice drills make a ton of sense. For Glory is pretty good for this too, though if possible you want to practice in person for in-person events because the lag (even if minimal) that exists in For Glory not only hinders you, but also makes certain things possible because the opponent cannot react properly due to lag. Anthers Ladder is good in terms of playing people closer to your skill level and getting to know stages other than FD, but that online lag is still present. That said, getting feedback is absolutely the best way to get better, as long as you take that feedback to heart, and that's something anybody but For Glory players can give.

 

[GeflGabe]

From my personal experience, I usually practice combos I find useful or to my liking in for glory. I practice teching in training mode by bombing myself at 60%-30% damage at certain areas on a final destination stage.(Very useful for practicing wall teching.) I actually use the solo modes in high difficulty settings in order to train my endurance. And I make use of characters similar to the character I'm trying to get better with. And lastly I take on 10-100 lvl 6-9 cpus on a daily basis. I fight my Amiibo's if I'm feeling confident. Hope this helps in even a minimal way. Good luck.

 

[GreenMonkey]

I simply play against friends.

When you constantly repeat the same habit over and over again, such as having a tendency to roll or a pattern for spot-dodging, you'll start to notice it in your gameplay. And you can learn in a safe environment with friends, either online or offline, rather than having to deal with potential laggy opponents on FG/SLadder or the possibility of encountering toxic players.

Good luck~!

 

[Sheep McLamb]

I like going against Level 3 or 4 CPUs when I'm alone and I want to practice quickly. Of course, you could use the actual training mode, but for me, the Level 3/4 CPUs feel more natural in their (admittedly underwhelming) movements. However, you won't be going against Level 9 CPU champions of Smash in tournaments, and the best practice is always against people. CPUs don't play mindgames, but people do. Training with your brother is a good thing, and you could practice frequently against other friends to get an idea of how your tournament opponents are going to play.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Harmonious]

Smash 4 is largely based around mindgames and trying to predict your opponent. These mindgames will never work on the AIs of smash. So, practice with friends, and rather than watching your own movements, watch their responses instead. Granted, you should be familiar with your character enough to be able to do this, but it is incredibly beneficial to be able to predict how your opponent will respond to your actions.

To help with these mindgames, it's helpful to make yourself less predictable via techs such as B-reversing and pivot grabbing. For these just go into training mode, then try to implement them in actual matches the best you can. It may take a bit of time to realize when exactly you should use these techs.

 

[BuTR]

First off, thanks for all your help everybody. I've taken a lot of what you guys have said into consideration, and will definitely put a lot of it to good use. I probably should have been more clear, however, on the fact that It's not performing advanced techniques or controlling my character that I need practice with. My fundamentals are alright, it's becoming predictable, and not picking up on habits as easily as others do that is my problem.

I found myself at the last tournament I attended trying to focus on what my opponent was doing more so than trying to not become predictable myself. I have since been practicing with my brother some more and tried to focus solely on not being predictable. I asked him for some feedback after a few matches, and he said I am definitely more difficult to play against than I was even as much as a couple days ago.

So for now that will be my focus. To play as unpredictably as possible and watch how they react to certain plays. Once I feel comfortable with that I will start to focus a lot more on reading my opponents and combining that with what I've already learned. Thanks for everything guys!

 

[DaDavid]

Well I think reading the opponent goes hand in hand with not playing predictably. If you're not concerned with what your opponent is or might be doing, then you will inevitably play based only on where your character is and where you (essentially) hope they will be. This can lead to tunnel vision, which will definitely lead to any (good) opponent being able to predict what you're doing and easily punish it.

 

[BuTR]

Well I think reading the opponent goes hand in hand with not playing predictably. If you're not concerned with what your opponent is or might be doing, then you will inevitably play based only on where your character is and where you (essentially) hope they will be. This can lead to tunnel vision, which will definitely lead to any (good) opponent being able to predict what you're doing and easily punish it.

Yeah, I understand that now and am trying to implement it. I do think that I have finally reached that level where I can get into that mindset though. I think that the problem was that I've played smash since 2003 as a casual player and I carried over a lot of the same mindset and game plans as I used to have. I need to basically empty out the old and fill my brain with a completely new way to play the game. Learning advanced tech, frame data, and counter picks is not going to help nearly as much if I can't actually play the game at a certain level the right way.

 

[DaDavid]

Yeah, I understand that now and am trying to implement it. I do think that I have finally reached that level where I can get into that mindset though. I think that the problem was that I've played smash since 2003 as a casual player and I carried over a lot of the same mindset and game plans as I used to have. I need to basically empty out the old and fill my brain with a completely new way to play the game. Learning advanced tech, frame data, and counter picks is not going to help nearly as much if I can't actually play the game at a certain level the right way.

In regard I'd say we're probably at the same level honestly haha. So I can confidently say that what's helped me more than anything these last few months that I've been getting somewhat serious about Smash again is just identifying bad habits and trying to break them. Glad to have been of any help.

 

[Dar4]

Best advice is to continue to play your brother as often as you can.

Other than that, I honestly think level 9 CPUs are great for learning neutral. They powershield everything and are frame perfect so if you throw out moves that are unsafe you'll know it because you'll get punished almost always. If you are getting beat badly by level 9's, start with level 6 or 7s and work your way up to them.

I'd say if you aren't beating atleast 50% of people you run into on For Glory matches, there's no need yet for Anther's. What you need in that situation is volume. You're probably better off going For Glory because you'll get probably triple the number of games in, if not more (Anther's requires a lot of setup time). If you run into someone who has a good connection and is better than you, play them for as long as possible. Leave players who you are much better than or lag badly.

Also, spend time in training mode learning all your characters' setups and combos.

But overall it sounds like you just need volume. Getting good requires playing thousands of games. With a better playing living with you it sounds like you've got a great resource available for getting better.