I kinda hate to ask, but how do you best deal with shield happy players?

[Jprime777]

I'm a newbie to SSB4 so forgive my awfulness in asking what is probably a very rudimentary question.

I find the sort of players who give me the most trouble are the ones who shield a lot. I'm aware that the problem is most likely that I'm too obvious in my approach, but I'm not sure how to fix it. I guess when people start turtling and force me to approach I'm really sure what to do, since it seems like it always ends with my attack blocked and then thrown.

In the more traditional fighting games I play like Blazblue/GuiltyGear/UMvC3 I'd get around really defensive players by throwing out strings of low and overhead attacks to make it harder for them to keep their guard up, but that's not really an option in Smash.

I've found pretty limited success by getting throw-happy on people who like to set back with their shields up, but surely there must be some better way that I'm not seeing?

I'm also not sure if this where I should be posting this, sorry. I was going to ask on the GameFAQs board, but I find they're both pretty abrasive and more interested in arguing about the roster than playing tips.

 

[Comet Shrine]

Grabbing / Pound (Jiggly main here) works for me.
Anything that does significant shield damage (like Shield Breaker or the aforementioned Pound) also works for me.

 

[Kapus]

Grab them. If you have trouble getting a grab in, try to fake them out with it

 

[Metalbro]

Test their reactions by going for the grab and take note of what they do. Then adapt.

 

[pikazz]

there are 3 ways you can do against shield happy people

1. Grabs. the simplest and effective. but since it is the simplest and effective way to attack shield, they will start to either spotdodge/Roll when you do a Dash Grab so adapt if they start to do that

2. Fake out. you could run up to them and test their ground and see what they like to do.
like run and shield before them and see what they will do, if they shield on your approach you can shieldgrab them. if they attack your shield, do a Out of Shield attack when the attack is over

3. Spacing and Shield Pressure. not every move is sade on shield, but there are some moves that are and can either put a huge pressure on the opponent shield or create a opening. Ganons FAir/BAir is safe on shield when spaced correctly
this is the hardest step but its crucial for smash as its important to space right.
not very effective however if the opponent is "Perfect Shielding happy" tho,

however, you need to adapt to your opponent before the opponent adapt to your playstyle.
if you only start doing grabs, the opponent will adapt it to your grabgame and will do the best way to counter that playstyle of yours, thats your que to adapt to their counter and anticounter that counter!

 

[Mothraniclus]

Samus is definitely great against shields. Bomb or Super Missile + Full Charge Shot always breaks shields.

 

[Reitein]

Run up to them, shield, wait for them to roll back or attack you. If they continue to shield, grab them or use moves with high shield damage.

 

[KirbyFan20]

Try doing an empty hop against them. An empty hop is when you approach someone in the air and making it look like you're about to attack them, but instead of attacking, fast fall to the ground and run up and grab them.

I find it to work consistently against people who shield a lot.

 

[KetchupKaffei]

Grab and punish.

 

[pollo20x6]

I, personally, struggle with relying heavily on Fairs and Bair cross ups.
If you turtle, you can stop me easily with a shield grab combo.

So I just change it up. I jump, but won't attack and mix that with run and instead of jumping, keep running and grab.
So I just keep mixing it up like that until they don't know if I'm gonna go for a grab, a fake attack approach in the air, or an actual Fair/Bair approach.

So while grabs are the easy answer, how you get the grabs without being predictable is where you'll have to experiment.
Your unique playstyle will require your own unique way of approaching for grabs.

 

[Eisal]

As some people have suggested already, I too find a fake charge helpful at times. Make a charge until halfway and then jump back or simply dash the other way.

Short jumping while poking with forward-air attacks in front of the opponent without hitting them can cause them to feel unsure about their situation, making them decide to either run up to you, or retreat.

Mind games and the fundamentals are important. Mind games works differently on different people, and the goal is to make them question themselves in knowing what they expect you to do next. So sometimes it can be curious to do something unexpected, like, not going full out on an easily punishable situation, or take chances and fool them believing you are going for a straightforward punish while you just run up, and instantly turn around and charge a smash in the other direction, and boom, they roll into it.

 

[Sari]

Pick and use chomp. He literally eats through shields.