joejoe22802
Smash Ace
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2005
- Messages
- 873
Hellos and Shiate
OK So you clicked in here. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the best player in the world but don't dip yet (I mean you are bad). Jokes aside, I am working my *** off to get further and I have a clear understanding of why I am where I am. This game is about blindspots, seeing what your opponent can’t see and abusing it while minimize your own mistakes. I will try to enumerate as many concepts as I use, but of course there are some things I don’t know yet.
Precursor:
The goal of this post is to help people improve, hopefully at a quick rate. It is important to understand and then apply.
Fist of all winning isn’t everything. Focusing on securing the win makes it so you limit your exploration of the game. Don’t evaluate your ability based on wins, but rather rejoice if knowledge of WHY. What worked and what didn’t. What you got worked by and what you got away from.
This game takes time to get good. Focus on small individual steps. If not you have simply created a giant slope which is much harder to deal with. Don’t go into the game with general goals like “I’m gonna win”. Instead think “I’m gonna dodge his nairs because he’s using them a lot and I’m going to secure my edgeguards since hes living for too long”. The list I‘ve created is to be used in chunks. Choose a couple things and work on them. DON’T read the whole thing and try to fix it all at once. Maybe two things every week.
Here is a very good way to think of things
http://topachievement.com/smart.html
The reason I break down the game into the following things is so that you can properly attribute why you loss. Too many times I’ve heard, “if I just didn’t lose that stock by SD’ing I would have won” or “ahh my tech-skill was off” or at the worst times “my controller blah blah blah”. GTFO with that stuff. Notice how indirect all of those things are. They might be half truths, but remember winning isn’t everything. Even though this one thing could have made a difference in some percent. It is rarely your only mistake. If it was, then it probably shouldn’t have been so close….
So with all of that said. Please take sometime to read this stuff and mix some of it into your practice routine.
1) Get technically sound
a. This does not mean you can do all kinds of fancy stuff. It means you can do things when you want to do them. Simple as that, figure it out.
2) Learn cookie cutters
a. Basic set up and punishes. You need to be able to drill shine, dash attack to slap, up throw to knee.
b. Be accustomed to your characters and learn at what percents, what works all the time.
i. When it’s last stock high percent Falcon vs Fox, you want to know that you can secure a win with just a grab.
3) Spacing
a. Go look up the Lunin stuff. It teaches you how to avoid getting hit.
b. In addition to this you should be aware when your opponent is able to hit you without moving much. Many times people only view this game in one dimension. PLATFORMS EXISTS, if you’re so busy dash dancing and they jump on the platform right above you, you have to recognize that they are very close to hitting you now.
4) Wait for your openings
a. Your opponent is the open for punishment after a missed attack OR a common string so look for them and punish when they end.
b. Most of the time you have to give them something to hit. If you’re just standing and waiting for someone, they usually won’t attack you head on. It’s just obvious that you’re waiting for something. To change the status quo move in and out of their range just DON’T commit. This can be done through any combination of DD and WD.
i. DD
ii. Dash in WD back
iii. Moonwalk shenanigans, other movement
5) Edgeguard
a. The game is about getting them off the stage, so don’t give away something that is free. If you let someone back on, you’re asking for more damage.
b. Grab the Edge and Hold On (too often do I see people just get back on with no sort of challenge)
i. Refresh Invincibility (c’mon…)
ii. Edgehogging is important since it eliminates an option which forces another.
1. Honestly… It’s just really good.
c. Learn how to jump out.
i. I wouldn’t say this should be used every time, but a lot of times when you jump out, you eliminate a ridiculous amount of options. It is so clutch when you really need to secure a kill.
d. Pressure while they are on the edge
i. Although the opponent has many options, many of them leave them in similar locations
1. Cover this space or else you’re giving them a life basically.
a. Basically don’t stand at the other side of the stage, but additionally, most of the time don’t stand right on the edge.
6) Punish appropriately/ Move Choice
a. You know that fox in going to roll into you at 70% while you’re playing captain falcon.
b. You could grab and tech chase, but what would be better? STOMP KNEE
i. Know when to kill and know when to combo.
7) Understand how they react to you.
a. When playing the game, people aren’t as rational as one might think. We can’t just assume everyone is a self-serving fully rational being (like capitalism). Instead we have to find out ourselves.
b. Some simple cases to test this include running up that forces spot dodges, shields, jumps, WD back, dash away.
c. Another common thing would be jabbing a shield to force a roll.
d. Experiment more, everything you do leads to some reaction, and the more you do it, the easier it is to see patterns.
8) Recognize Patterns
a. Great transition, I know.
b. But honestly, given the opportunity to react to something, people tend to start making similar decisions. Watch!
9) Find the Achilles Heel
a. Most players are not perfect; they don’t have insane amounts of experience. They might know how to react to certain things, so change it up! Find what they don’t know about and abuse the heck out of it.
b. On this note, don’t overcomplicate things. It’s not like some crazy anime where the weakness is jumbled in some super huge combo where the single opening is during this single frame. Those are some insane conditions, and honestly no one is that good. In reality people’s mistakes are pretty obvious to spot, just be on the look out.
10) React first, Predict later
a. Sometimes you might think that you’re so on top of a certain match up, just to get ***** in tournament. This is very common when you have become too adjusted to playing a certain person.
b. When you play new people you need to rework your instincts. At the beginning react to what your opponents are doing rather than predicting. Finally when you get a feel for their patterns and movements, then you can predict. If not you’ll probably put yourself in a bad position.
11) Understand Platforms
a. Some people play this game on one dimension. Nah bruh, nah. There is vertical and horizontal movement. Ever get ***** by a stomp happy falcon?
12) Pressure
a. It is possible to be really good and to never approach because even high level players get too impatient or slip up. BUT, the way I see it is that these are variables that aren’t under your control. I don’t want to rely on those things. This is why you need to add obstacles into the mix. It is usually easier to do things when you’re setting the pace. It makes it so you aren’t a twitchy mess.
b. In addition to this, you have to know when your pressure has ended, Many times people try to keep going with it, even when the momentum has stopped.
13) Play to your opponent
a. Do what works and do it a lot. There is no need to outsmart someone who isn’t thinking. If they haven’t adjusted all game, there is no need to be tricky.
14) Planning ahead
a. Experiment, this is what your frontal lobe is for. Don’t just go in there and rinse and repeat. This might lead to some wins, but it will get you destroyed on a long-term basis. You should be actively trying new things and seeing how they affect the game.
TLDR : You should read it cause its different, but here are some really common things
Reasons you might suck at melee.
1. You don't know all of the options.
2. You have poor spacing meaning that you are at bad ranges during the neutral position.
3. You don't DI your offense.
4. You have limited ways of doing certain things.
5. You don't learn from or even see your mistakes.
ugh how do i fix the formatting for the tabs and what not?
OK So you clicked in here. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the best player in the world but don't dip yet (I mean you are bad). Jokes aside, I am working my *** off to get further and I have a clear understanding of why I am where I am. This game is about blindspots, seeing what your opponent can’t see and abusing it while minimize your own mistakes. I will try to enumerate as many concepts as I use, but of course there are some things I don’t know yet.
Precursor:
The goal of this post is to help people improve, hopefully at a quick rate. It is important to understand and then apply.
Fist of all winning isn’t everything. Focusing on securing the win makes it so you limit your exploration of the game. Don’t evaluate your ability based on wins, but rather rejoice if knowledge of WHY. What worked and what didn’t. What you got worked by and what you got away from.
This game takes time to get good. Focus on small individual steps. If not you have simply created a giant slope which is much harder to deal with. Don’t go into the game with general goals like “I’m gonna win”. Instead think “I’m gonna dodge his nairs because he’s using them a lot and I’m going to secure my edgeguards since hes living for too long”. The list I‘ve created is to be used in chunks. Choose a couple things and work on them. DON’T read the whole thing and try to fix it all at once. Maybe two things every week.
Here is a very good way to think of things
http://topachievement.com/smart.html
The reason I break down the game into the following things is so that you can properly attribute why you loss. Too many times I’ve heard, “if I just didn’t lose that stock by SD’ing I would have won” or “ahh my tech-skill was off” or at the worst times “my controller blah blah blah”. GTFO with that stuff. Notice how indirect all of those things are. They might be half truths, but remember winning isn’t everything. Even though this one thing could have made a difference in some percent. It is rarely your only mistake. If it was, then it probably shouldn’t have been so close….
So with all of that said. Please take sometime to read this stuff and mix some of it into your practice routine.
1) Get technically sound
a. This does not mean you can do all kinds of fancy stuff. It means you can do things when you want to do them. Simple as that, figure it out.
2) Learn cookie cutters
a. Basic set up and punishes. You need to be able to drill shine, dash attack to slap, up throw to knee.
b. Be accustomed to your characters and learn at what percents, what works all the time.
i. When it’s last stock high percent Falcon vs Fox, you want to know that you can secure a win with just a grab.
3) Spacing
a. Go look up the Lunin stuff. It teaches you how to avoid getting hit.
b. In addition to this you should be aware when your opponent is able to hit you without moving much. Many times people only view this game in one dimension. PLATFORMS EXISTS, if you’re so busy dash dancing and they jump on the platform right above you, you have to recognize that they are very close to hitting you now.
4) Wait for your openings
a. Your opponent is the open for punishment after a missed attack OR a common string so look for them and punish when they end.
b. Most of the time you have to give them something to hit. If you’re just standing and waiting for someone, they usually won’t attack you head on. It’s just obvious that you’re waiting for something. To change the status quo move in and out of their range just DON’T commit. This can be done through any combination of DD and WD.
i. DD
ii. Dash in WD back
iii. Moonwalk shenanigans, other movement
5) Edgeguard
a. The game is about getting them off the stage, so don’t give away something that is free. If you let someone back on, you’re asking for more damage.
b. Grab the Edge and Hold On (too often do I see people just get back on with no sort of challenge)
i. Refresh Invincibility (c’mon…)
ii. Edgehogging is important since it eliminates an option which forces another.
1. Honestly… It’s just really good.
c. Learn how to jump out.
i. I wouldn’t say this should be used every time, but a lot of times when you jump out, you eliminate a ridiculous amount of options. It is so clutch when you really need to secure a kill.
d. Pressure while they are on the edge
i. Although the opponent has many options, many of them leave them in similar locations
1. Cover this space or else you’re giving them a life basically.
a. Basically don’t stand at the other side of the stage, but additionally, most of the time don’t stand right on the edge.
6) Punish appropriately/ Move Choice
a. You know that fox in going to roll into you at 70% while you’re playing captain falcon.
b. You could grab and tech chase, but what would be better? STOMP KNEE
i. Know when to kill and know when to combo.
7) Understand how they react to you.
a. When playing the game, people aren’t as rational as one might think. We can’t just assume everyone is a self-serving fully rational being (like capitalism). Instead we have to find out ourselves.
b. Some simple cases to test this include running up that forces spot dodges, shields, jumps, WD back, dash away.
c. Another common thing would be jabbing a shield to force a roll.
d. Experiment more, everything you do leads to some reaction, and the more you do it, the easier it is to see patterns.
8) Recognize Patterns
a. Great transition, I know.
b. But honestly, given the opportunity to react to something, people tend to start making similar decisions. Watch!
9) Find the Achilles Heel
a. Most players are not perfect; they don’t have insane amounts of experience. They might know how to react to certain things, so change it up! Find what they don’t know about and abuse the heck out of it.
b. On this note, don’t overcomplicate things. It’s not like some crazy anime where the weakness is jumbled in some super huge combo where the single opening is during this single frame. Those are some insane conditions, and honestly no one is that good. In reality people’s mistakes are pretty obvious to spot, just be on the look out.
10) React first, Predict later
a. Sometimes you might think that you’re so on top of a certain match up, just to get ***** in tournament. This is very common when you have become too adjusted to playing a certain person.
b. When you play new people you need to rework your instincts. At the beginning react to what your opponents are doing rather than predicting. Finally when you get a feel for their patterns and movements, then you can predict. If not you’ll probably put yourself in a bad position.
11) Understand Platforms
a. Some people play this game on one dimension. Nah bruh, nah. There is vertical and horizontal movement. Ever get ***** by a stomp happy falcon?
12) Pressure
a. It is possible to be really good and to never approach because even high level players get too impatient or slip up. BUT, the way I see it is that these are variables that aren’t under your control. I don’t want to rely on those things. This is why you need to add obstacles into the mix. It is usually easier to do things when you’re setting the pace. It makes it so you aren’t a twitchy mess.
b. In addition to this, you have to know when your pressure has ended, Many times people try to keep going with it, even when the momentum has stopped.
13) Play to your opponent
a. Do what works and do it a lot. There is no need to outsmart someone who isn’t thinking. If they haven’t adjusted all game, there is no need to be tricky.
14) Planning ahead
a. Experiment, this is what your frontal lobe is for. Don’t just go in there and rinse and repeat. This might lead to some wins, but it will get you destroyed on a long-term basis. You should be actively trying new things and seeing how they affect the game.
TLDR : You should read it cause its different, but here are some really common things
Reasons you might suck at melee.
1. You don't know all of the options.
2. You have poor spacing meaning that you are at bad ranges during the neutral position.
3. You don't DI your offense.
4. You have limited ways of doing certain things.
5. You don't learn from or even see your mistakes.
ugh how do i fix the formatting for the tabs and what not?
