I'm just...terribly bad...

[D-idara]

I just don't know, really, I've tried all characters and I unfortunately like some of the harder-to-use-well ones like Little Mac and Rosalina, and I just feel really bad, whenever I try For Glory, I get completely bodied by characters I ran circles around on Brawl and Project M, and I had recently practiced a lot of Project M and I was least a little good on a casual level, but with this game, I have a hard time even beating Lv. 9 bots...

...can someone give me some tips as to how to improve at the game? I just can't seem to land my aerials or do shorthops constantly, or read people, I always do the same thing and get too frustrated to even think about my strategy when I'm Bowser being juggled by Ike at >100%. Every online match I play I get horribly juggled, edgeguarded, combo'd...etc.

Like, how to quickly learn a character's hitboxes, aerials, reach, range, etc...are there some online videos I could use to maybe learn a little more about my favorite characters on a deeper level? Or maybe the game's too young to have those kind of training videos?/

I dunno, just tips on getting a little better, since I'm getting really frustrated when I'm completely shut down by stupid CPUs and the people online that read EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. MY. MOVES.

 

[icecreamlights]

I feel the same way! :/

 

[SevenYearItch]

Go to the character forums here and check those out, they usually have data on all the moves and what percents they kill at. Schedule friendlies with people on here, most people will be more than happy to run sets with you to help you out and give you tips on what you're doing wrong.

 

[EarthBoundRules]

I'm not so great either. Currently I've been playing lots of For Glory matches and playing people who I know are good at the game.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

Do 100 more matches then come back and tell me how you've improved

 

[lijero13ss]

1. Just keep playing with different players until you find someone you like and want to main. Don't matter who it is.

2. Character Forums
I cannot tell you how helpful that was for me. I am a toon link main. And I thought i was pretty decent after playing 400+ matches in for glory. But then i read the toon link forum and learned a ton! Now, im not monsters, but i feel like im pretty good with toon link and usually come up winning now

Definitely go to the character forums once you find a main. Remember, you play for fun. Find the character you have fun using regardless of what everyone else uses and main him/her

 

[Dsull]

Shorthops are actually easier in this game i feel, you just tap the jump then do what you wanted to do (my Wario uses shorthop down airs all the time, as that move is crazy good). Its more how fast you can move your fingers between buttons than pressing the button right to shorthop, you'll get better over time.
EDIT: Oh, if you have it on, TURN OFF TILT JUMP! Cannot express this enough, always always ALWAYS use the buttons if you want to get good enough to win consistently in FG. Tilt jump screws up any of your up-airs by wasting your second jump, and shorthop tilt jump is next to impossible to do in a snap.

Pick a character thats always been your favorite OUTSIDE of smash. Play the everliving gak out of that character. You get better over time. Eventually you learn combos, tricks, and counters with them.

Megaman for me is a good example. Im not a bad player by ANY means, but im no tourny pro either. Megaman was so weird compared to my usual Wario playstyle from Brawl or Fox from Melee that i just got crushed with him every...single...game....until i used him like ~100 times or so and started to figure out what moves are great for what.
I have always been a huge megaman fan ever since i was 4, as my earliest memory is playing Megaman2 on the NES. I was determined to at least get him playable, if not competitive. And i did. He's on par with my Wario/Lucario now, which are easily my best.

Dont take failure to heart. You learn from failure in life, not success. If you always win, then when you lose you dont know how to handle it and it cascades into more losses. Watch replays of your games and figure out why you lost, it helps tremendously i swear. Until you get good some cheese tactics like counter spammers will always be difficult to handle, but you can learn to spot people that do that as well and play into it.
(I mention counter spammers because im noticing an influx of them lately lol)

 

[sweq32]

As a player that is pretty much in the absolute average of players, I have thought multiple times that I am a bad player. In the end, though, you have to tell yourself that it is just a game and that you can't win them all. Once you keep this in your mind, you won't feel as bad as you do now. This is how I got over my crushing failures involving Smash 3DS.

Side note, use Pink Falcon.

 

[AlexAnthonyD]

Play 99 stock 1v1 matches vs lvl 9 bots until you can beat the ones that give you the most trouble. Start out trying to beat the quick characters, Fox, Sheik, Sonic. Play them until you either finish the 99 stock or have a comfortable lead. While this does not prepare you 100% against humans (as nothing will since each persons fighting style is unique), it does give you many valuable tools in your roster. For example, if you can grab a lvl 9 character you can probably grab any human as the cpu makes it as hard as possible to get grabbed in many instances. You will then learn its overall play "style" and that is how you beat an opponent, by figuring out what it is going to do before they do it and having the appropriate counter ready for all situations. If you have good enough dexterity you will find a way to beat these opponents. If you play one of these 99 stock matches vs each cpu on lvl 9 you will have a really good feel for your character going out of each match, as well as what the character you faced is capable of doing.

In addition to this I also recommend you watch videos of better players than you, watching what they do and how it differs from you is critical in your learning. Always think what you would do next and see what they do, compare the two. If they take a different action than you see if it is better and if so why.

 

[Dsull]

Ehhh i wouldnt advise the bot idea. Computers tend to cheat, especially after Lv7, and beating them is totally different than players.

I could beat 1v3 Lv9 bots in Brawl without even thinking about it. Bots are easy. Play against some random guy that hasnt touched the game in months and i lose over and over and over.

Bots are bad...mkay..

 

[AlexAnthonyD]

Bots like humans can show you what is possible that you currently werent doing before. It is nowhere near a solution but as a tool it absolutely has its place.

 

[Oatkeeper]

Yeah, definitely don't practice with bots, playing against humans is the best way to get better. If you can't win on FG maybe try finding a partner to play with on different stages that aren't FD as they might give you more of an advantage.

 

[Deitylight]

Bots at level 9 can and will read your button input.
So playing against them is useless for getting better.

 

[warionumbah2]

Don't EVER go with the fighting level 9 bots idea. Just play online playing against actual people is better than CPU.

 

[9Blades]

First off, find out who your best character is. Doesn't matter if they're bad or not. (Heck, I used Link in Melee a lot and he's terrible.)
And NEVER fight Lv 9 CPUs. They read your button input so its basically unrealistic. Go online, or find some friends to play with. Or use Training Mode.
Oh, and one other tip: Don't give up.

 

[Daytrip]

I thought I was good, because I was fighting in For Glory. Started doing the FC sharing thread, and would constantly be getting my Mario behind handed to me on a silver platter.

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

I just don't know, really, I've tried all characters and I unfortunately like some of the harder-to-use-well ones like Little Mac and Rosalina, and I just feel really bad, whenever I try For Glory, I get completely bodied by characters I ran circles around on Brawl and Project M, and I had recently practiced a lot of Project M and I was least a little good on a casual level, but with this game, I have a hard time even beating Lv. 9 bots...

...can someone give me some tips as to how to improve at the game? I just can't seem to land my aerials or do shorthops constantly, or read people, I always do the same thing and get too frustrated to even think about my strategy when I'm Bowser being juggled by Ike at >100%. Every online match I play I get horribly juggled, edgeguarded, combo'd...etc.

Like, how to quickly learn a character's hitboxes, aerials, reach, range, etc...are there some online videos I could use to maybe learn a little more about my favorite characters on a deeper level? Or maybe the game's too young to have those kind of training videos?/

I dunno, just tips on getting a little better, since I'm getting really frustrated when I'm completely shut down by stupid CPUs and the people online that read EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. MY. MOVES.

Problem 1) Not picking one character and sticking with them.
Problem 2) Harder to use should not be an excuse.
Problem 3) Game is completely new still and therefore what makes a person "good" for now will have different connotations a couple of years from now.
Problem 4) Online play should not be deterministic of how well you can play.
Problem 5) Letting emotions affect your thought processes and avoid concentration on the game/opponent.
Problem 6) Seeking tips on a character without having first picked a single character to focus on.

These are the things I am seeing at the moment. Once you have addressed some of them or recognized some of these issues you can be a bit more focused on your ability to play better :D

Mean this all with the best of intention despite this probably coming across as rather... stiff.

 

[Wintropy]

Find somebody that you can fight and train alongside. As they improve, you'll be improving to keep up with them, and vice-versa.

 

[D-idara]

Well, alright thanks, I dunno if this is true...but I read somewhere that Lv. 8 CPUs are the closest you can get to human-player practice if you don't have humans to practice with. Also, I'm gonna go with the 'use a character you LOVE outside of Smash' tactic and I think I'm gonna try to get better at Samus.

About the whole 'watch pros' thing...sometimes I see pros doing things that I have no idea how they're doing, one example would be Little Macs with those lightning dodge-plays and lightspeed pivot F-Tilts out of shield or crazy stuff like that, not to mention most Rosalina plays which are overly convoluted...

As for now, could someone link me some videos where Samus is played at a higher level? As I'm playing her, I'm feeling like she plays A LOT differently than Project M Samus (Losing Ice Beam smashes hurts... ). Another reason for my slight depression might be that I was earning the 'Classic with All Characters' challenge and I couldn't settle on a character to git gud at them, not to mention having to play some characters I really don't like playing at all, like Yoshi and Dr. Mario (Especially being a PM Mario main, with Smash4 Mario feeling very similar to him).

 

[Wintropy]

Well, alright thanks, I dunno if this is true...but I read somewhere that Lv. 8 CPUs are the closest you can get to human-player practice if you don't have humans to practice with. Also, I'm gonna go with the 'use a character you LOVE outside of Smash' tactic and I think I'm gonna try to get better at Samus.

I routinely fight level 8 CPUs with Pit and Palutena, both characters I love beyond Smash, and it's really helping me improve and have a lot of fun at the same time. If you can get to the stage where you can regularly emerge victorious in such battles and understand your favourite characters' mechanics inside and out, you're doing really really well.

 

[ChooChoo]

As for now, could someone link me some videos where Samus is played at a higher level?

There's a feature of Spectate mode called Replay Channel that allows you to watch past online matches involving every character. Not all of those will be high-level play, but I guess you could see what Samus players lack, learn some match-ups... oh, and my fella Yoshi is crying now, that was insensitive of yours!

 

[D-idara]

There's a feature of Spectate mode called Replay Channel that allows you to watch past online matches involving every character. Not all of those will be high-level play, but I guess you could see what Samus players lack, learn some match-ups... oh, and my fella Yoshi is crying now, that was insensitive of yours!

I'm not saying I hate Yoshi, I just don't like playing him because he's a very pinpoint-precise character.

 

[ChooChoo]

I'm not saying I hate Yoshi, I just don't like playing him because he's a very pinpoint-precise character.

Haha no worries! It'd be boring if we all played the same

 

[Holder of the Heel]

Playing CPUs will give you bad habits for when you're playing against actual people. Outside of unlocking stuff and the challenges I'd recommend trying to avoid them.

 

[SwoodGrommet]

Everybody is saying different things and I don't know what my life is anymore. Is it, or is it not a good idea to play against level 8 bots to practice? For example, to work on certain aspects of your game, such as mastering spikes, combos etc.

 

[ChooChoo]

Everybody is saying different things and I don't know what my life is anymore. Is it, or is it not a good idea to play against level 8 bots to practice? For example, to work on certain aspects of your game, such as mastering spikes, combos etc.

I had always played against CPUs before last week, and now I have some excruciating instincts (short hop to Meteor Smash, unsafely going for aerials, rolling constantly... so rekt it hurts). I'd use CPUs only to get used to a new moveset, but a Training session would probably work better. If you're on the go, stick to lvl 8's, but never choose them over actual people if you have the chance!

 

[PND]

Psychology is the most useful skill in Smash. You can't practice that against computers.

Watch your opponent. Learn their habits, how and why they react to certain situations. Condition them into believing that you have an exploitable pattern, and as soon as they catch on, switch it. Take that knowledge and capitalize.

Smash, and all Fighting Games, are mental games. If you aren't thinking, you will lose. Playing against computers instills terrible muscle memory bad habits that a competent player can -- and will -- exploit.

Play humans. Play as many humans as possible. Good ones, bad ones, online, or offline. Every player has a lesson they can teach. Try and focus on the good players, and when you lose, learn from it. Use it. A loss is the best lesson you can get, if you look at it properly. When you lose in person, ask the player for advice.

Then play more humans. Watch tourney videos, read character forums, assimilate what you see, and practice it -- against humans.

That's how you get better at Smash.

 

[Deleted member 245254]

It honestly depends on your goals. Are you trying to be the EVO champ? Do you want to beat your friends? This honestly makes a huge difference in the advice I would give you.

Reason being is depending on that goal and the time that goal desires to be put in to it you may either be literally incapable of reaching that goal without insane natural-born skill.

My goal is to be an above average player. So I practice when I can, play online when I can, but I'm married to a wife who is not a gamer, likes to travel and go out with friends a lot (together), and I have a full-time job. I can't possibly expect to reach the same level of people who play continuously all day, every day, or anything in-between my operating hours and theirs. They deserve it more for their effort. So realistically, my goal is suited to the amount of time I can put in to it. I certainly don't mind facing those players, they teach me things I can take in to future matches, but I have come to terms with the fact that there is likely an upper echelon of players who put enough time in to the game to where I'd be ridiculous to expect myself to beat them.

So what about you? What are expecting and what do you desire? Are they the same? Usually disappointment means your expectation is too high.

 

[Vkrm]

Watch a lot of tournament footage of your main and common characters.

 

[Avarice_Shadow]

I'm new to smash bros but not playing fighting games, when I lose badly enough that it frustrates me, I save those replays and fight again (I won't keep going when I'm too frustrated though because at that point you'll be hindering yourself). Then look at what I did wrong. If my opponent read me then I need to find out when he started reading me and what I could have done differently. Practice what you should of done in practice mode, so it commit's to your muscle memory. Now you don't have to think to hard when you execute whatever you're doing and you can think about other things, such as analyzing the opponent.

Also watch players play your character at high level play. I even watch characters I don't play so that I know what to expect when I see a character I haven't faced before.

 

[Sambiti]

whenever I try For Glory, I get completely bodied

I feel you bro

 

[Dark 3nergy]

The 3ds build might not be for you. Im not comfortable playing on mine because of the button layout. Its okay to wait for the wiiu build which is what ill be doing.

 

[Swedish_Otaku]

What the hell guys, even if they're bots they will give you a good practice. Just like any sport when not playing against humans, it's still practice. So at least start with CPUs, beat all characters on lv 9. That's what I did before I went online.

 

[Her0Noi5e]

The way I personally get better, is just trying to take away at least one thing in a fight and trying to improve it the next game. like, recently, I have a hard time actually blocking attacks, I find myself dodging a lot more then I should and being caught out of positions, and are easily punishable.

You can't leave a match thinking "that guy was just better than me, i couldn't do anything.", you really have to look and pay attention as to why you lost. there have been for glory runs where I play the same person maybe 10-15 times, before I can even get a game, because every game I took away the little things I knew I was doing wrong to make me lose the game.

Don't think of losses like they're wasted time, and don't think people are better than you just because, you have to believe you can beat everyone, and if you're not, you have to figure out why not and where you messed up on where to work on.

 

[Ragemos]

Well you should find around 3 characters that you love playing as. I'm also starting to try to play smash competitively, I main as Robin, Samus, and Shiek. You should check out this guys video about Smash 4's mechanics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Vrp0s9AEU&list=LLAWfRW5F8cAa_p2RrlDxJ4Q&index=2
You should also check out his stuff that he uploads, I saw that he was making character moveset/custom moveset videos and neat things about them. It's actually really helpful to watch people that play as your main at the Replay Channel ingame. It's really useful to see how other people are using that certain character. Check out ClashTournaments live streams on Twitch too. They have weekly mini tournaments. They actually just uploaded their recent tournament on their Youtube too. Remember, have fun, stay focused and your sure to get better! Good luck :D

 

[Darklink401]

Okay so here's the short summary of bot or no bot:

Level 9 bots: No

Level 7 or 8 bots: will get YOU better, but it will NOT prepare you for real combat. Practice as much as you want against them, to find out what YOUR character can do and what he can't. But don't expect to be great at FG from just this.

For Glory: After learning your character's quirks enough that you feel comfortable, go ahead and face the world. Practice here will get you ready for actual battles.

 

[Manpanda]

I feel you when it comes to being destroyed in Glory matches. However like others have said during the match try to learn at least one thing you are doing wrong. For example right now I am having a hard time with fast characters rolling, hitting me, and rolling away. I know I need to learn to predict them now, because the character I play (Lucina) cannot match them in speed strikes like they can (mostly sonics, Zero suits, LIttle Macs, and Graninjas).

I also learned I am trying to counter to much (part of that is just learning when to and not to counter). Sometimes if I am the one that keeps running in I will stop going on the offensive, and wait for them to come to me. This catches them off guard, and often times allows me to get a few combos off of them. Otherwise if you want to stay on the offensive mix up your opening move. If they keep shielding my aerials, or tilt attacks I will run in and grab them. I will do this more if the opponent has a counter, since often times they will use it as you are running in. After catching them off guard with the throws go back to the attacks. Always doing the same thing only gives someone who is paying attention an advantage. I have came back from a few matches once I figured out my opponent only knew how to fight one way.

These are the things I have learned in the short time I have been playing smash 4 (and before this I had only played melee, and that was about 4-5 years ago). The most important thing I can tell you, is don't get discouraged. Some matches I will see how long I can dodge their attacks (not by only rolling btw, that will not win you a match), and counter the attacks I dodge. I have noticed it is better to go for a lot of little hits, then trying to land one big hit.

I hope this has helped you, and be sure to update us on how your progress is coming.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Hayzie]

You can choose any character. I'd play with someone you know or online 1 vs 1. CPU don't do nearly as much mind games as real people do. The idea is to not rush into battle right away. Read your opponent. Let them do their moves, their dodges, their shields,... and make note of this. Play the mind games back. Make it look like you're going to do something then retract from that. A good example is to lightly jump towards them as pretend to attack, but air dodge anyways as you back away from them. Keep letting them do their moves while they miss. Read them, then counter the best way you see fit. Most people either shield or dodge once or twice, dance around then perform a landing hit. Make them change their tactics to how they think you're going to play. Strike 'em to what they're not used to. There's no shame is defense. This game is highly both offensive and defensive.

 

[Ffamran]

Practice is all we can say, but I'd say to play as many characters to get an idea of how they work. Knowing your enemies is a great way to counter them.

Characters that fit your play style might be worth it to focus on, though exploring and challenging yourself is a good thing as well.

Losing means you can learn and there's no greater victory than learning. Do you roll to much? Are you predictable? Do you dash a bit too often? Do you rely on certain moves to kill? Do you stay mobile for too long? Do you stay in the same spot for too long? All those question can be answered somehow some way. Hmm, I don't know, but can you save replays of online matches? If you can, then watch how you fight and notice your habits and your opponent's as well.

Anyway, this is probably looked down on, but my play style is heavy on countering and basically being a hyena, scavenger, or opportunist. Most of it's lag, so I stick to one side or try to not get killed until the lag ends and that usually leads to me being away from the fight and then jumping in or attacking someone who goes or is launched into my direction and "kill-stealing". It's also timing-based, since I just attack at the right moment. It's something that I learned and worked with since Brawl with Ike who couldn't hit fast, so I learned to hit hard and at the right times. I guess you could say it's like being a guerrilla - hit and run tactics.

 

[15 [イチゴ]]

Take it from a nub who's starting to become a scrub:

Lv 9 bots are cool when you're learning how to play a character. It shows you what moves could be punished and how you can use them together at a base level. However, they have strange behavior, can read your inputs and react in unrealistic ways. I see no harm in learning what your character can do against one until you can competently control well enough to react to what a real opponent is doing. In the long term tho'...