In serious need of some tips

[BarSoapSoup]

Okay...

I've always thought I wasn't pretty bad at playing Bowser, but I've been on a very long, very upsetting FG lose streak. I've been choking, getting frustrated and that frustration leads me to make more bad moves. Could you guys give me some tips? I've been getting my destroyed over and over, and I know that the key is to space well and to stay out of the air, but no matter what I seem to do, I always get sent up in the air and can't seem to beat anybody. Every victory I've had today was either close, or in the case of one, given tome. I'm very disheartened and would appreciate any help you guys could give.

 

[420quickscoper]

Hmm, I suppose I could lend you some. I'm not that great of a Bowser, but I think I can help.

What problems are you having? If you be more specific, we can help you.

 

[BarSoapSoup]

Hmm, I suppose I could lend you some. I'm not that great of a Bowser, but I think I can help.

What problems are you having? If you be more specific, we can help you.

Staying out of the air or at least making sure I have more control over the situation. Approaching. Reading better, although with roll spammers I struggle a lot more. A lot of my frustration stems from Bowser's lack of true combos.

What I do know is that I have a really nasty habit of wanting to get down to the ground as fast as possible and that usually ends in me D-Air'ing and Bowser Bombing a lot, although that's more of a panic strategy rather than something I typically do when I'm feeling normal.

I guess my biggest problems though is I don't know many of Bowser's advanced techniques, or at least, I wind up not using many of the techniques I practice offline. I know the basics to Bowser - make a lot of use of your tilts and pivot grabs, jab is good for when people get too close. If they're inside of Bowser's model and you're unsure of if you can hit them, Whirling Fortress can be a suitable option (although it has high endlag. Don't get punished for it). Despite Bowser's great pivot grab range, I find his throws themselves aren't great kill moves as opposed to Klaw, U-Smash and of course, Side Smash.

I've basically only been playing Bowser lately, mainly because I'm not confident in my Mewtwo game. I had my biggest losing streaks against another Mewtwo player and a Donkey Kong player, both of which I feel I should be able to do relatively well against.

 

[Big Sean]

Staying out of the air or at least making sure I have more control over the situation. Approaching. Reading better, although with roll spammers I struggle a lot more. A lot of my frustration stems from Bowser's lack of true combos.

What I do know is that I have a really nasty habit of wanting to get down to the ground as fast as possible and that usually ends in me D-Air'ing and Bowser Bombing a lot, although that's more of a panic strategy rather than something I typically do when I'm feeling normal.

I guess my biggest problems though is I don't know many of Bowser's advanced techniques, or at least, I wind up not using many of the techniques I practice offline. I know the basics to Bowser - make a lot of use of your tilts and pivot grabs, jab is good for when people get too close. If they're inside of Bowser's model and you're unsure of if you can hit them, Whirling Fortress can be a suitable option (although it has high endlag. Don't get punished for it). Despite Bowser's great pivot grab range, I find his throws themselves aren't great kill moves as opposed to Klaw, U-Smash and of course, Side Smash.

I've basically only been playing Bowser lately, mainly because I'm not confident in my Mewtwo game. I had my biggest losing streaks against another Mewtwo player and a Donkey Kong player, both of which I feel I should be able to do relatively well against.

You're best off recording a game from FG of you losing and then posting it to the video archive for advice. For basic advice you can read my Bowser guide http://smashboards.com/threads/big-seans-guide-to-bowser.409797/

 

[Bowserboy3]

"In serious need of some tips"

Play Marth then



Ok, Bowser advice. Don't worry about having not many true combos. Bowser benefits much more as a punishing character, and his high speed lets him do this much more effectively. Bowser benefits from dashing in and shielding. Though it is not quite as effective as before the shield stun changes, it's still useful. He has great grab range and his Up B out of shield is stellar so these work well. Approaches should be varied from you actually approaching occasionally, to forcing the opponent to approach. Short Hop Air Dodge is good if you time it just right, as you can land with an Up B and approach that way. It's a good way to get past projectiles. Short Hop Forward Air is a good option at close range. You can do this retreating to be safe and also force the opponent to come to you. It autocancels too so it is relatively safe. Most times too, you can do this as an approach option as if the opponent shields, you can cross up their shield. Fire Breath is good too. Try jumping into it. It is also good to B reverse and Wavebounce it too. Run away from your opponent and if they follow you, B reverse it. Wavebounce into it and trick the opponent. Remember to angle it upwards slightly so people are caught into it for longer. Empty short hop into Side B is also good because opponents will often shield when you jump towards them. Jab is fantastic at close range too. Use it as a get off me move. Jab 1 into Ftilt or Dtilt too. Pivot Ftilt is also a good option when maneuvering around your opponent. Also, remember that Up Smash is fantastic for challenging opponents coming downwards, as the shell is fully invincible during the move.

Don't rush to get down to the stage. If anything, go back to the ledge. You are invincible when you grab the ledge the first time for a while so if you are close to the edge of the stage, go there. If you practice, try and Down B the ledge. This is safer as you basically throw a hitbox out stopping opponents challenging you, and you can grab the ledge during the animation.

Actually, Fthrow is a great kill throw at around 130% IIRC. Bthrow is also good, killing about 10% later I think.

Don't give up, and don't feel disheartened. Remember, Bowser is heavy and big. He gets combo'd easily. However, he lives to insane percentages, so think of it this way. If the opponent combos you, your attacks get better at punishing thanks to the rage. Don't get overly aggressive if you get a stock behind. I used to do this all the time with whoever I used. With a character like Bowser however, it is far worse, as he has lots of cooldown on his moves.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Bad advice. ZeRo said to play Sheik not Marth.

I hate long posts so I'll keep this short.

You are a ground based fighter so stay there. If you get launched it's usually better to do nothing and drift to the opposite side of the stage only reacting to an opponent if they attack you. Use Fire Breath if they want to get close.

DO NOT get over reliant on Dair or Bowser Bomb for landings.

Your limbs are intangible and can cancel out projectiles, a big one being Bair. Short hop Bair for no land lag. Same with Fair.

You can Short hop air dodge right into special moves. No lag.

Fortress OoS is a good punish move but if you miss your punish you will be punished.

Take a look at the moveset and data topic for some neat tech such as Jab traps.

Bowser is all about passive aggression, hard reads and durability. I suggest you practice against each character at Cpu level 8 3 stock until you can 3 stock each one without dying once. If only so you get used to all their moves or most of them to see what you can and cannot do before facing a human player which is when the human mind will come into play. And will bring more diverse battle tactics.

 

[BarSoapSoup]

"In serious need of some tips"

Play Marth then



Ok, Bowser advice. Don't worry about having not many true combos. Bowser benefits much more as a punishing character, and his high speed lets him do this much more effectively. Bowser benefits from dashing in and shielding. Though it is not quite as effective as before the shield stun changes, it's still useful. He has great grab range and his Up B out of shield is stellar so these work well. Approaches should be varied from you actually approaching occasionally, to forcing the opponent to approach. Short Hop Air Dodge is good if you time it just right, as you can land with an Up B and approach that way. It's a good way to get past projectiles. Short Hop Forward Air is a good option at close range. You can do this retreating to be safe and also force the opponent to come to you. It autocancels too so it is relatively safe. Most times too, you can do this as an approach option as if the opponent shields, you can cross up their shield. Fire Breath is good too. Try jumping into it. It is also good to B reverse and Wavebounce it too. Run away from your opponent and if they follow you, B reverse it. Wavebounce into it and trick the opponent. Remember to angle it upwards slightly so people are caught into it for longer. Empty short hop into Side B is also good because opponents will often shield when you jump towards them. Jab is fantastic at close range too. Use it as a get off me move. Jab 1 into Ftilt or Dtilt too. Pivot Ftilt is also a good option when maneuvering around your opponent. Also, remember that Up Smash is fantastic for challenging opponents coming downwards, as the shell is fully invincible during the move.

Don't rush to get down to the stage. If anything, go back to the ledge. You are invincible when you grab the ledge the first time for a while so if you are close to the edge of the stage, go there. If you practice, try and Down B the ledge. This is safer as you basically throw a hitbox out stopping opponents challenging you, and you can grab the ledge during the animation.

Actually, Fthrow is a great kill throw at around 130% IIRC. Bthrow is also good, killing about 10% later I think.

Don't give up, and don't feel disheartened. Remember, Bowser is heavy and big. He gets combo'd easily. However, he lives to insane percentages, so think of it this way. If the opponent combos you, your attacks get better at punishing thanks to the rage. Don't get overly aggressive if you get a stock behind. I used to do this all the time with whoever I used. With a character like Bowser however, it is far worse, as he has lots of cooldown on his moves.

Thanks for the tips. I do a lot of these already, actually - reverse f-tilt, down-b to ledge, use of U-Smash (although I don't spam it), Up-B out of shield, using Fire Breath to block projectiles, cover landings, and get some damage in, things like that. F-Throw is fine for lighter chars but against heavyweights I have to wait up until 200% to kill them.

Only thing that is new to me is wavebouncing...what is that?

 

[BarSoapSoup]

. I suggest you practice against each character at Cpu level 8 3 stock until you can 3 stock each one without dying once. If only so you get used to all their moves or most of them to see what you can and cannot do before facing a human player which is when the human mind will come into play. And will bring more diverse battle tactics.

Not Level 9???

Edit: Level 9s are typically the bots I practice against as I find their movesets to be similar to human movesets. I practice pivot grabbing on dummies but everything else I use Lvl9 bots for.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Not Level 9???

Edit: Level 9s are typically the bots I practice against as I find their movesets to be similar to human movesets. I practice pivot grabbing on dummies but everything else I use Lvl9 bots for.

Lvl9 only serves to teach fundamentals. They read your inputs and are frame perfect.

 

[Bowserboy3]

Only thing that is new to me is wavebouncing...what is that?

Ok, so it is essentially tricking the opponent into thinking you are going to be jumping forward into your neutral B, but instead you go backwards. Here is a video on it.

Not Level 9???

No, certainly not! Never, ever practice against the level 9 CPU. The level 9 CPU reads your inputs and reacts to them accordingly, in ways a human would never. Say you launch a level 9 offstage, when you go to attack them, they will air dodge ALWAYS at the right time. You can even wait off on attacking and they will still wait to f**k with you.

Level 8 CPU occasionally does this, but it is only occasionally, and it makes the battles more human. If ever I need to practice alone, I always go level 8.

 

[BarSoapSoup]

Wow, I never really thought about level 9s like that. I had figured its what everyone does, but if Level 8s are more appropriate I'll shift to them. As for recording matches, and I meant to address this earlier, I do not really have any recording equipment, although I know its possible to record 3DS matches. Is it easy to do? If so, I'll try to record some matches today for examination.

 

[S_B]

Wow, I never really thought about level 9s like that. I had figured its what everyone does, but if Level 8s are more appropriate I'll shift to them. As for recording matches, and I meant to address this earlier, I do not really have any recording equipment, although I know its possible to record 3DS matches. Is it easy to do? If so, I'll try to record some matches today for examination.

Remember that you can save replays and upload them to youtube now. You can even edit the length of them later on in youtube itself.