How to help someone get good?

[GalacticSlugs]

My brother plays Smash with me, and he is preeetty bad. I always teach him new stuff (ex. he didn't know about "tilts") but he never applies them. He always wants to play but it's really boring because I never lose against him. How should I help him get better so he actually stands a chance? Should I link him to some YT channels? (which ones if so). Also we play no items on omega stages.

Note: This is my first post, and I just join the site, so, I'm very sorry if this is in the wrong place, you can move it if you need to.

 

[NoiseHERO]

You try purposely making him mad so that he goes into an "I'LL SHOW YOU" phase?

 

[GalacticSlugs]

You try purposely making him mad so that he goes into an "I'LL SHOW YOU" phase?

Lol whenever I use Ness against him he gets really pissed and smashes (no pun intended) all the buttons on the controller when I use PK Fire. After he loses against my Ness he says "I don't understand why I can't beat Ness! He just has Fire and Lightning! And besides that, he only has punches, kicks, a yoyo, and a bat!!" Some times when he rages, he acts like a baby and throws the gamepad.

Also more related to what you said his "I'LL SHOW YOU" phase makes him even worse. He jumps around in his chair every time he attacks and that's when he tells me that "Ness sucks!" or just insults or rages at whatever I do.

 

[muddykips]

mannn, i don't get why everyone tries to get better by going straight to fd no items.

if i'm learning a new character, i like to just mess around on different maps with items and get a feel for the character through just having fun. i'm not going to learn anything if i'm just getting stomped on, and i'd assume the same goes for your brother.

you need to take things one step at a time. if he's just mashing buttons, then i really don't see why you expect him to incorporate tilts into a playstyle which you seem to be describing as having no strategy to it.

like, dang, at least set some handicaps. give him a chance.

 

[GalacticSlugs]

mannn, i don't get why everyone tries to get better by going straight to fd no items.

if i'm learning a new character, i like to just mess around on different maps with items and get a feel for the character through just having fun. i'm not going to learn anything if i'm just getting stomped on, and i'd assume the same goes for your brother.

you need to take things one step at a time. if he's just mashing buttons, then i really don't see why you expect him to incorporate tilts into a playstyle which you seem to be describing as having no strategy to it.

like, dang, at least set some handicaps. give him a chance.

Alright, I'll try it, thanks

 

[Rehnquist]

How old is he?

Age is important, most players under 14-16 have difficulty with discipline which limits their ability to research and to recognize patterns. Not that age always fixes this though, if his personality is not conducive to the above traits, then chances are he won't push himself further in smash 4.

Your brother sounds like he is new to gaming or to competitive gaming at any rate. I have a sister who is a decade younger than me, and I have dragged her through quite a few difficult and heavy pvp focused games, which has boosted her skills in general.

When she was a lot more inexperienced in the early smash games (and much younger), I'd have her perform particular actions on command (tilt in every direction, spot dodge this attack, power shield this shot, etc)

Muscle memory is what we fall back on when we panic or are in a bind, even if you know something if its not natural, it won't happen in a match. Essentially, just have peaceful practice sessions

 

[GalacticSlugs]

How old is he?

Age is important, most players under 14-16 have difficulty with discipline which limits their ability to research and to recognize patterns. Not that age always fixes this though, if his personality is not conducive to the above traits, then chances are he won't push himself further in smash 4.

Your brother sounds like he is new to gaming or to competitive gaming at any rate. I have a sister who is a decade younger than me, and I have dragged her through quite a few difficult and heavy pvp focused games, which has boosted her skills in general.

When she was a lot more inexperienced in the early smash games (and much younger), I'd have her perform particular actions on command (tilt in every direction, spot dodge this attack, power shield this shot, etc)

Muscle memory is what we fall back on when we panic or are in a bind, even if you know something if its not natural, it won't happen in a match. Essentially, just have peaceful practice sessions

He is 21 and he isn't into competitive anything, if I suggest going to 1-on-1 he says he just wants to battle me. I know that FG isn't very good for competitive play, but still, it's practice.

 

[Rehnquist]

He is 21 and he isn't into competitive anything, if I suggest going to 1-on-1 he says he just wants to battle me. I know that FG isn't very good for competitive play, but still, it's practice.

Perhaps I didn't explain my first post sufficiently. The limited 1v1 between you and your brother and the choice of final destination as a stage is fine, these are not issues and are irrelevant.

What you could do to improve his ability is to have him perform new moves in a less intense environment, meaning have him practice moves where you are not trying to kill him. The fact that he is mashing all the buttons on the controller when he is frustrated (as described in your second post) suggests to me that he doesn't know how smash works just yet.

Which means it would benefit him to just simply practice character moves and see how the game flows. For example, in a non competitive match between you and your brother, where you are not trying to kill each other, you can have your brother spot dodge your pk fires multiple times in a row or have him practice his tilts and or other moves which he is unfamiliar with to get it into his muscle memory. This would expand his knowledge of the tools available to him and his character(s) and the overall flow of the game.

Not everyone finds that fun, so it depends on whether your brother will go along with the above plan but I have found this to be successful when introducing people to smash. So it just depends if your brother values his own improvement in the game as much as you hope.

Otherwise as a previous poster said, just let him have fun.

 

[GalacticSlugs]

Perhaps I didn't explain my first post sufficiently. The limited 1v1 between you and your brother and the choice of final destination as a stage is fine, these are not issues and are irrelevant.

What you could do to improve his ability is to have him perform new moves in a less intense environment, meaning have him practice moves where you are not trying to kill him. The fact that he is mashing all the buttons on the controller when he is frustrated (as described in your second post) suggests to me that he doesn't know how smash works just yet.

Which means it would benefit him to just simply practice character moves and see how the game flows. For example, in a non competitive match between you and your brother, where you are not trying to kill each other, you can have your brother spot dodge your pk fires multiple times in a row or have him practice his tilts and or other moves which he is unfamiliar with to get it into his muscle memory. This would expand his knowledge of the tools available to him and his character(s) and the overall flow of the game.

Not everyone finds that fun, so it depends on whether your brother will go along with the above plan but I have found this to be successful when introducing people to smash. So it just depends if your brother values his own improvement in the game as much as you hope.

Otherwise as a previous poster said, just let him have fun.

If I try to do something like this, he gets stubborn and says something along the lines of "I don't need help, I can learn how to play on my own!" I've tried several times.

mannn, i don't get why everyone tries to get better by going straight to fd no items.

if i'm learning a new character, i like to just mess around on different maps with items and get a feel for the character through just having fun. i'm not going to learn anything if i'm just getting stomped on, and i'd assume the same goes for your brother.

you need to take things one step at a time. if he's just mashing buttons, then i really don't see why you expect him to incorporate tilts into a playstyle which you seem to be describing as having no strategy to it.

like, dang, at least set some handicaps. give him a chance.

I tried this and he says that he wants it to be "balanced, and fair". If I win, he says that I suck and I only win because of my character. for example: if i won with DDD then he says "He has the biggest hammer in the world, how am I supposed to win against that?"

Also some of the characters he uses: Mario (basically his main), Rob, and Shiek

 

[Superior Spider-Mew]

My brother is sort of similar but he likes to play just for fun rather than getting better. He's not as invested as we are with the game, trying to improve etc, y'know?

 

[Br0wn1ez]

Keep kicking his butt until he eventually gets better

 

[Symphonicshadow]

I play with my friend a lot, and beat him 95% of the time. He always gets angry when he loses, so I only play with him now, instead of against him. Whether he has improved or not...I guess is open to debate. We make a heck of a team now, though.

 

[Garrujak]

Me and my friend used to play brawl all the time, and I'd get furious when my Fox couldn't beat his Falco. I remember raging constantly until one day I realized he was just reading me pretty well. I first started by trying to fool him, do things he didn't expect, or get in a hit or two when he wasn't prepared for it, and then I managed to learn how to combo him, and I improved as a result. The best way to get someone better at this game is to teach them to play their opponent, not the characters. Tech, DI, combos, none of that is of any value to know if you can't execute them in a game. If he's really serious about getting better, try to teach him not what to do, but why to do it.

 

[ThatAintFalcon]

Try making him play against computer players and increasing their level as he gets more comfortable. That's how I
learned the basics of smash. (Of course, playing against computers isn't the same as playing against humans, but at least their difficulty can be adjusted.). Once he is consistently beating lvl 9s, let him try playing online (for fun or for glory, doesn't really matter)

 

[RESET Vao]

I don't think the dude cares about being good. The first step to being good, is to want to be good.

 

[smasher1001]

Yeah, i agree with RESET Vao, if he doesn't truly want to improve then he'll only improve in minor ways in the long run. that aside, if he claims you're using things that are unfair(D3's hammer etc) then just play the same character as him, then you have a perfectly balanced match, and you can learn his character and give tips to him.