I want to beat my friends.

[ThatGreenPigeon]

Hey Smash Community!

Recently i've been having a problem. Me and my buddies have been playing a ton of SSB4 lately in preperation for ultimate. For the most part I play mario, but am willing to learn other characters. I train against lvl 9 cpu and in for glory. I feel like I put up a good challenge against pretty decent people.

My friends dont play much. But i RARELY. WIN. And it doesnt make sense. The main one I struggle against is bowser. He just spams Up Special on the ground. It feels like theres never a time to go attack! Im asking a few things from you all:
1. Who can I pick up that is VERY effective against casuals/spamming newbies
2. How can I counter the spinning up special bowser has on the ground
3. Whos better in your opinions, ness or lucas (a bit unrelated, but im curious)

Thanks yall! Less than a week until ultimate!

 

[Orlando BCN]

Firstly, stick with your main if you like them. The real problem is getting around that hurdle, in this case, Bowser’s up-B. Don’t try to be predictable so that they’ll know when to use it, but don’t play randomly either. Keep a level head and expect multiple outcomes during a certain situation, such like “is he gonna up-B now?” or “will he grab me instead?” This will allow you to have much better reads on your opponent.


Personally I prefer Ness.

 

[SorrowOfAcheron]

Haha, this used to happen to me in Smash and other fighting games; I'd go into the mechanics and movement and how to improve and all that and my bro was just casual (and a masher in traditional fighters) about it and he'd beat me a lot of the time.

I think it's because when you decide to understand the mechanics of a game, you a lot of the time concentrate on actively applying them while you play, so your mind can be quite jumbled.

You also can just get frustrated because you feel you're putting in the work and not getting anywhere.
I'm not a pro by any means but I think the most important thing is knowing your character/s; what you can and can't do, when and where. Just feeling comfortable with what you're doing.

As for your questions, I haven't played a slot of Smash 4 so I'm not too sure.

 

[Teeb147]

Bowser's up-b starts fast, so you really just want to be blocking until it's over and attack as soon a it is. May take a few times to learn the timing. Or/and you stay at a distance and use fireballs and back-air, which are really good for spacing with mario.

Nothing wrong with learning other characters too. Considering that ultimate is coming out in a few days though, you might as well just have fun for now and enjoy the game as much as you can and see how things go from there There'll be plenty of new stuff to learn and deal with, so maybe just try to learn the game in general for starters, and then you can hone what you want to do or whatever

Ness seems better in ultimate, but lucas might be slept on too, it's pretty early.

 

[leejaybird]

What always helps is to watch the pros. Just YouTube Mario in competitive matches and take notes. Try not to just see which moves they're using, but why they are using them. Bowser's UpB comes fast out of shield, so attacking while he is shielded isn't a good option unless it's a properly spaced back air. If he is shielding a lot and just waiting for you to attack, try grabbing instead. If he misses the UpB, just punish him. You'll get the timing pretty quick.

 

[Mogisthelioma]

Basically all of the original 8 fighters, as well as Luigi and Ness, are super easy to learn and get used to. I recommend picking them up first if you're more into simplistic fighters. For Bowser's grounded up B, hold shield or use a counter move to punish it. It has a bit of end lag so that's when you strike. Jumping over him to cross him up is also super effective.

Ness is better than Lucas. I'd pick Ness if you want to win, Lucas if you wan to keep your friends (I'm joking!!! Ness is totally fine).

 

[TheSpitefulWolf]

Basically all of the original 8 fighters, as well as Luigi and Ness

what

also stop falling for up-b baits. shield and throw that fat turtle every ****ing time he tries it until desired effect is ****ing achieved

then punch your friend for being a tryhard ****bird.

 

[Mogisthelioma]

what

also stop falling for up-b baits. shield and throw that fat turtle every ****ing time he tries it until desired effect is ****ing achieved

then punch your friend for being a tryhard ****bird.

Luigi has fast aerials, making his air/gimping game easy to abuse. All you gotta do with ness is apply pressure with Side B and F air.

 

[Kholdstare]

Humiliate them with taunts and grin all the while.

 

[Justin Allen Goldschmidt]

Pick Fox or Pikachu or even stick with Mario, and constantly run away after getting one or two hits in, and if he's turtling (pun intended), then shoot lasers/thunder jolts/fireballs at him. Also learn to use "safe" moves like Mario's back air, and of course grav when he shields instead of just attacking shield. Make him come to you. Fight casual tactics with another simple tactic and he'll be forced to actually think, hopefully screwing up in the process. Just my opinions on the matter. Good luck!

 

[GhostYB]

find your style and try out other characters. maybe the reason you're not winning is because you simply do not know what you're doing with your character. if you pick different fighters, learn a few basic moves and combos and pick one you're really comfortable with, i can ensure you you'll have better results. mario is a pretty good choice already, but try characters with different styles like heavyweights, speedy characters, zoning characters etc. learn what do in matchups and situations by watching pro players to help you. but in this matchup id say go for pikachu.

 

[OF 'til I OD]

Distract them by taking your pants off.

 

[ThatGreenPigeon]

Distract them by taking your pants off.

That ain't in chief, it only worked after I flashed them.

 

[icecooler]

One thing to help with the grounded bowser up B is to use a windbox to pull him off the stage and they enter freefall. most satisfying thing to pull