How to actually get better.

[snorman22]

So I recently picked up smash 4. I'm brand new. I've been playing non stop for two weeks. I played every character to see who I like and I feel pretty comfortable on Ness (seems quite basic) now I'm only playing against computer on hardest difficulty but I can more often then not win by a large margin.
Now I play online (is there divisions or ranks or eloquent?) And I get absolutely stomped. Like literally embarrassed. Now how are you supposed to practice when the computer is meh and online is too much

 

[Crystanium]

People adapt, computers don't. Here are a few tips on how to improve.

1. Don't play against computers at all.

2. Look at your opponent; don't look at your character. You should be fully aware of what you're going to do next. Looking at your character may be compared to looking at the keys on a keyboard while typing. You'll be more efficient when you know how to type without looking at the keys. So it is with looking at your opponent.

2a. By looking at your opponent, you can pay attention to the way he/she behaves. How often does the opponent jump? How does the opponent recover? How does the opponent get up from the ledge?

3. Try out other characters to see what they're capable of doing. You don't need to know their advanced techniques, although you're more than welcome to try them out. I am not saying you should drop Ness. My brother mains Ness and Ness is actually a good character. He's not basic as you put it, but Mario is. That's not a bad thing. I use Mario from time to time.

4. Have a good attitude when you lose. That's right, I said "when" you lose. There is no "if". Expect loss, but don't take it to heart. Taking it to heart will affect the way you play. If you get upset, take a break. Don't let yourself become demoralized. You have more control over your emotions than you think. In fact, thinking about your losses or even why you feel bad for losing is important. You said you're new. You said you've been playing for two weeks non-stop. You will improve!

5. If you decide to practice without playing against another human player, go to Training Mode and practice different techniques. Practice short hopping. Practice recovering with PK Thunder 2. When you try something, your brain will "rewire" itself. (That's a metaphor for something that actually occurs. Look up neuroplasticity.) Practice with combos as well. Also, Ness is an aerial character, so start using your aerials. N-air is a great attack. Short hop u-air will push opponents away when they shield. Don't be afraid of using b-air, either. Oh, and use back throw to KO your opponent. Don't let their words of, "That's not fair!" hinder you from using back throw.

6. Have fun! If you lose, laugh it off!

 

[KirbCider]

So I recently picked up smash 4. I'm brand new. I've been playing non stop for two weeks. I played every character to see who I like and I feel pretty comfortable on Ness (seems quite basic) now I'm only playing against computer on hardest difficulty but I can more often then not win by a large margin.
Now I play online (is there divisions or ranks or eloquent?) And I get absolutely stomped. Like literally embarrassed. Now how are you supposed to practice when the computer is meh and online is too much

I don't play Ness, so I honestly can't say how easy or difficult he is to master.

But I can say going against CPUs is only beneficial for certain things (like trying to learn a combo, a certain tech, etc) because the problem with CPUs is they don't really react like a human player should. Even the highest LV CPU can still act like a goof, and more often than not they don't really take advantage on all the extra stuff a character can do. One good example would be that a CPU Bayonetta, even at the highest level, doesn't even do what she's capable of and can't even recover correctly.

Most characters that can use a Side B to recover wont, and you can't expect a CPU Ganondorf to Ganoncide you either.

Human opponents are far better than CPUs can ever be when it comes to trying to get better. Actual players will get used to your habits and begin to read you. On top of that they'll also have knowledge on a lot of other things too, like what your character can do and what to look out for, how to escape out of the combos your character can do, and more. CPU's just can't do that.

I would suggest only to use CPUs and/or Training Mode when you want to learn something specific.



And as for Online...

You need to expect losing as well as other things to occur. You'll always meet someone better than yourself at some point down the line, or someone who will just give you trouble to the point your heart won't stop racing due to how close the match is.

You'll also need to expect the opposite too. For Glory is... A mixed bag of nuts to put it simply. It doesn't have a ranking system and the matchmaking seems to be purely random so you'll get a lot of people of all shapes and sizes. I've gotten people who clearly couldn't play (lost both stocks in under 30 seconds), to people who not only two stocked me but only took around 50% damage while doing it before. You'll also get spammers, campers, rollers, and other types too. You'll never know what to expect.

You could end up having really poor luck and getting nothing but bad players. Who knows?



Also please keep in mind you aren't going to get better instantly.

There's honestly a lot of stuff in Smash that exists and some things are simply harder to master than others. There's matchup knowledge that you'll need to consider because one character can simply have a better advantage over the other.

There's also knowing what your character can do as well. There's tons of guides out there, and even videos on Youtube for a variety of characters. Some can explain what the strengths of your character are, and some can showcase all the combos your character can be capable of too. Sometimes it's helpful to see a Tournament video to see how they use them in an Tournament setting. There's also Character specific boards here on SmashBoards where you can seek helpful advice and more.

Aside from that, there's even a whole lot of tech to learn.

It can range from character specific, to various techs in general like Auto-Cancelling, Pivoting, and more.

There's just a lot to Smash to learn and it's going to take more than just a few hours or weeks to get a good handle on things. It's why I mentioned in your previous Thread to just test the waters out and take your time getting used to the game itself. It's going to take a lot of hard work and there's a lot of information out there you'll have to absorb. Please be patient and don't try to rush head first into things. It's okay if you can't get a handle on something at first. You'll get better overtime. We all will.

Simply practicing and doing your best is the first and best step you can do to improve.

Stay positive and don't put yourself down if you continually lose. Take it one step at a time and most importantly enjoy the game itself. A lot of people focus so much on getting better they completely forget the whole point of a game is to have fun and enjoy it.

Also never forget you can always ask for advice when you feel stuck. There's a lot of members here how will gladly help.

 

[snorman22]

People adapt, computers don't. Here are a few tips on how to improve.

1. Don't play against computers at all.

2. Look at your opponent; don't look at your character. You should be fully aware of what you're going to do next. Looking at your character may be compared to looking at the keys on a keyboard while typing. You'll be more efficient when you know how to type without looking at the keys. So it is with looking at your opponent.

2a. By looking at your opponent, you can pay attention to the way he/she behaves. How often does the opponent jump? How does the opponent recover? How does the opponent get up from the ledge?

3. Try out other characters to see what they're capable of doing. You don't need to know their advanced techniques, although you're more than welcome to try them out. I am not saying you should drop Ness. My brother mains Ness and Ness is actually a good character. He's not basic as you put it, but Mario is. That's not a bad thing. I use Mario from time to time.

4. Have a good attitude when you lose. That's right, I said "when" you lose. There is no "if". Expect loss, but don't take it to heart. Taking it to heart will affect the way you play. If you get upset, take a break. Don't let yourself become demoralized. You have more control over your emotions than you think. In fact, thinking about your losses or even why you feel bad for losing is important. You said you're new. You said you've been playing for two weeks non-stop. You will improve!

5. If you decide to practice without playing against another human player, go to Training Mode and practice different techniques. Practice short hopping. Practice recovering with PK Thunder 2. When you try something, your brain will "rewire" itself. (That's a metaphor for something that actually occurs. Look up neuroplasticity.) Practice with combos as well. Also, Ness is an aerial character, so start using your aerials. N-air is a great attack. Short hop u-air will push opponents away when they shield. Don't be afraid of using b-air, either. Oh, and use back throw to KO your opponent. Don't let their words of, "That's not fair!" hinder you from using back throw.

6. Have fun! If you lose, laugh it off!

This was great, thank you.
To be honest I don't even know what recovering is. I'm that bad.
And for suggestions on who to play to learn the basis of the game? I just picked Ness as he seemed fluid quite easy and I played him in smash 64.

 

[Dream Cancel]

I highly recommend you watch Izaw's Art of Smash series. At the beginning it may seem like he is patronizing you with how basic things seem to be, but things get advanced quickly and he's very detailed in his guide. They will answer a lot of your questions.

 

[Crystanium]

This was great, thank you.
To be honest I don't even know what recovering is. I'm that bad.
And for suggestions on who to play to learn the basis of the game? I just picked Ness as he seemed fluid quite easy and I played him in smash 64.

Recovering means getting back onto the stage. If you're thrown off the stage, you can use your second jump and/or use PK Thunder to zap Ness' bottom to launch him onto the stage. Ness can do what's called "wall-bouncing". This happens if you hit an angle of the stage with Ness. Ness will bounce off the stage after using PK Thunder on himself (called "PK Thunder 2"), which means he can then use another PK Thunder 2. You can see my brother attempt to do this here (at 1:11), but he's too close to the stage, so his PK Thunder was canceled out. You can also observe that if your opponent tries to recover below the stage, Ness can use n-air to knock the opponent away.

 

[Drizzlebow]

I highly recommend you watch Izaw's Art of Smash series. At the beginning it may seem like he is patronizing you with how basic things seem to be, but things get advanced quickly and he's very detailed in his guide. They will answer a lot of your questions.

This. So. Freaking. Much.

 

[UpsettedFizz]

I highly recommend you watch Izaw's Art of Smash series. At the beginning it may seem like he is patronizing you with how basic things seem to be, but things get advanced quickly and he's very detailed in his guide. They will answer a lot of your questions.

I recently discovered this series myself, and it taught me a lot of things about Sm4sh I'd never even heard of before, and I've been playing for the better part of a year now. I definitely recommend it, but take it slow. It's a lot to soak in.