Rᴀᴍᴇɴ
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2019
- Messages
- 9
Smash Bros. Ultimate is a great game. It's probably the most fair and balanced Smash game that we have to date. I personally love the game. Since I love the game, I want it to improve so it can become the best it can be. I want Ultimate's legacy to be as great as Melee's in that regard. So I want the game to become better. So that being said, I believe that everyone can agree with me that the buffer system is one of the worse things implemented in this game and needs to reworked or removed. Personally, I want it removed.
Now if you don't know what the buffer system is, it is a mechanic which allows players to successfully input actions before they can actually be executed, causing the inputs to be carried out the first frame possible as soon at the first move or animation is finished. This allows players to perform techniques which would otherwise require frame-perfect precision, and can be used in combos to minimize the opponent's opportunity to escape from hitstun (yeah I copied this from SmashWiki).
Doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, other Smash games (mainly Brawl and Sm4sh) just have input buffering. Smash Ultimate is different and has both input buffering and hold buffering, holding an input through the end of a previous move's animation will now cause the held input to be buffered (copied from SmashWiki again). Now you may say, "Ramen. What's wrong with two buffer systems? It just makes everything easier." And you would be correct... in theory. However, this system feels as if it actively works against the players. I know for a fact that everyone has had a moment where you wanted to input a move, but the game decides to input another move that you didn't want most likely because of the buffer priority list.
Here's the list:
Character Grounded
Fusion > Item Throw > Dodge > Grab > Shield > Special > Attack > Jump > Taunts > Dash > Turn
Character Airborne
Special > Item Throw > Z-drop > Zair > Airdodge > Aerial/Double Jump/Fusion
(Taken from a previous Smashboards. Here's the original post, it's a really well made post.)
Now, the most interesting action on the list is "Fusion". This is essentially Jump+Attack for quick shorthop aerials. This system basically makes buffering a full hop aerial impossible since easy shorthop aerials take top priority over anything else. For a mechanic that is supposed to help with combos, it actively works against combos since some characters (Like Greninja) need to use fullhop aerials for confirms. Naturally, a player would want to buffer a fullhop aerial to get a confirm, but since the buffer system is the way it is, it just buffers a shorthop aerial. It's weird how the system let's us buffer shorthop aerials, but don't let us buffer actions like dash attacks, even though they are technically two actions. As a Wolf main, dash attack is very vital for combos and I always want to throw it out whenever I get a down throw, but because of this buffer system, I end up doing a forward tilt.
The buffer system also makes the shorthop aerial system flawed too. The way that the system works is that the game decides what aerial you perform based on the direction the directional stick is facing when the move comes out, not based on the direction your directional stick is facing when you initially buffered your aerial. This is bad design. Imagine that you're a Lucina player and your shield get hits. Naturally, you would want to throw out a f-air so you can get the opponent away from you, so you buffer a f-air, but you always want to move yourself back so you can put yourself in a safer position, so you drift your left analogue stick back. The game will decide that you will input a b-air, due to the very flawed buffer system.
The buffer system also causes players to input unwanted rolls. In Smash 4, if you were to double jump, airdodge while holding the shield button and holding the left stick either left or right, your shield will pop up when you hit the ground. In Smash Ultimate, if you did the same inputs, you would roll in the direction that your directional stick was held in. I assume this happens because of the buffer priority list placing dodging higher than shield and the game treats rolling as a form of dodging, but this just opens up a lot of problems.
The buffer system also ruins mashing. This is a bit personal to me. I use a GameCube controller to play Smash Ultimate competitively. Anyone with a GameCube controller knows that GameCube controller sticks aren't the most durable, so naturally we don't want to break them. So when we want to mash, we mash the face buttons. Doesn't sound too bad, but that dreaded buffer priority list comes back to bite us again. As said before, I'm a Wolf player and Wolf's side-B is a move that is very dangerous to use near a ledge. Now if I get buried, it's natural for me to mash buttons and want to position myself away from my opponent. As soon as I press that special button, I have now thrown away my stock since special moves take top priority for all buffered moves in the game. Stick rotating is more efficient than button mashing, but most players don't want to mess up their sticks when mashing, so most button mash. A lot of replacement sticks (I'm referring to GameCube controller sticks) suck lol.
Well, I could possibly say a lot more about this dumpster fire of a mechanic, but I think I've said enough. Again, I love Smash Ultimate. I think it's a major step up from Sm4sh in every single way. However, I believe that the buffer system is holding Smash Ultimate back from being godlike. The buffer system, in my opinion, is Smash Ultimate's biggest problem (even more than online). I have a feeling that someone will tell me that you could work around the buffer system and you know what, you're right. I can work around the system. Just like how I shot myself in my right eye, I could work around not having a right eye. Just because you can work around an issue, that doesn't make the issue go away. The buffer system will always make the game feel off.
In my opinion, I believe that in order to make the game feel better, the developers of Smash Ultimate either need to just remove this system entirely (similar to Melee) or rework so it doesn't actively work against the player. Now I'm in favor of just removing the buffer system, so the game could feel more rewarding when you manage to pull off amazing tech, but I am aware that some players may like the idea of a buffer system in Smash. Now I'm not the smartest to trying to rework the system, but I'm sure someone can manage to make a good proposal to a rework of some kind. I just want my deaths in the game to be because of players that manage to kill me fair and square, not because the game made me input a buffered directional airdodge.
I was inspired by this video to make this post. I don't agree with everything said in the video, but I agree with a lot of the points made about the buffer system.
Now if you don't know what the buffer system is, it is a mechanic which allows players to successfully input actions before they can actually be executed, causing the inputs to be carried out the first frame possible as soon at the first move or animation is finished. This allows players to perform techniques which would otherwise require frame-perfect precision, and can be used in combos to minimize the opponent's opportunity to escape from hitstun (yeah I copied this from SmashWiki).
Doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, other Smash games (mainly Brawl and Sm4sh) just have input buffering. Smash Ultimate is different and has both input buffering and hold buffering, holding an input through the end of a previous move's animation will now cause the held input to be buffered (copied from SmashWiki again). Now you may say, "Ramen. What's wrong with two buffer systems? It just makes everything easier." And you would be correct... in theory. However, this system feels as if it actively works against the players. I know for a fact that everyone has had a moment where you wanted to input a move, but the game decides to input another move that you didn't want most likely because of the buffer priority list.
Here's the list:
Character Grounded
Fusion > Item Throw > Dodge > Grab > Shield > Special > Attack > Jump > Taunts > Dash > Turn
Character Airborne
Special > Item Throw > Z-drop > Zair > Airdodge > Aerial/Double Jump/Fusion
(Taken from a previous Smashboards. Here's the original post, it's a really well made post.)
Now, the most interesting action on the list is "Fusion". This is essentially Jump+Attack for quick shorthop aerials. This system basically makes buffering a full hop aerial impossible since easy shorthop aerials take top priority over anything else. For a mechanic that is supposed to help with combos, it actively works against combos since some characters (Like Greninja) need to use fullhop aerials for confirms. Naturally, a player would want to buffer a fullhop aerial to get a confirm, but since the buffer system is the way it is, it just buffers a shorthop aerial. It's weird how the system let's us buffer shorthop aerials, but don't let us buffer actions like dash attacks, even though they are technically two actions. As a Wolf main, dash attack is very vital for combos and I always want to throw it out whenever I get a down throw, but because of this buffer system, I end up doing a forward tilt.
The buffer system also makes the shorthop aerial system flawed too. The way that the system works is that the game decides what aerial you perform based on the direction the directional stick is facing when the move comes out, not based on the direction your directional stick is facing when you initially buffered your aerial. This is bad design. Imagine that you're a Lucina player and your shield get hits. Naturally, you would want to throw out a f-air so you can get the opponent away from you, so you buffer a f-air, but you always want to move yourself back so you can put yourself in a safer position, so you drift your left analogue stick back. The game will decide that you will input a b-air, due to the very flawed buffer system.
The buffer system also causes players to input unwanted rolls. In Smash 4, if you were to double jump, airdodge while holding the shield button and holding the left stick either left or right, your shield will pop up when you hit the ground. In Smash Ultimate, if you did the same inputs, you would roll in the direction that your directional stick was held in. I assume this happens because of the buffer priority list placing dodging higher than shield and the game treats rolling as a form of dodging, but this just opens up a lot of problems.
The buffer system also ruins mashing. This is a bit personal to me. I use a GameCube controller to play Smash Ultimate competitively. Anyone with a GameCube controller knows that GameCube controller sticks aren't the most durable, so naturally we don't want to break them. So when we want to mash, we mash the face buttons. Doesn't sound too bad, but that dreaded buffer priority list comes back to bite us again. As said before, I'm a Wolf player and Wolf's side-B is a move that is very dangerous to use near a ledge. Now if I get buried, it's natural for me to mash buttons and want to position myself away from my opponent. As soon as I press that special button, I have now thrown away my stock since special moves take top priority for all buffered moves in the game. Stick rotating is more efficient than button mashing, but most players don't want to mess up their sticks when mashing, so most button mash. A lot of replacement sticks (I'm referring to GameCube controller sticks) suck lol.
Well, I could possibly say a lot more about this dumpster fire of a mechanic, but I think I've said enough. Again, I love Smash Ultimate. I think it's a major step up from Sm4sh in every single way. However, I believe that the buffer system is holding Smash Ultimate back from being godlike. The buffer system, in my opinion, is Smash Ultimate's biggest problem (even more than online). I have a feeling that someone will tell me that you could work around the buffer system and you know what, you're right. I can work around the system. Just like how I shot myself in my right eye, I could work around not having a right eye. Just because you can work around an issue, that doesn't make the issue go away. The buffer system will always make the game feel off.
In my opinion, I believe that in order to make the game feel better, the developers of Smash Ultimate either need to just remove this system entirely (similar to Melee) or rework so it doesn't actively work against the player. Now I'm in favor of just removing the buffer system, so the game could feel more rewarding when you manage to pull off amazing tech, but I am aware that some players may like the idea of a buffer system in Smash. Now I'm not the smartest to trying to rework the system, but I'm sure someone can manage to make a good proposal to a rework of some kind. I just want my deaths in the game to be because of players that manage to kill me fair and square, not because the game made me input a buffered directional airdodge.
I was inspired by this video to make this post. I don't agree with everything said in the video, but I agree with a lot of the points made about the buffer system.