Keep Losing? Try this...

[Gill]

Good read for new peoples. Most of us kinda, got the concept of this automatically though.

For the record, <3 negative nancys.

 

[Samuman]

Really great work here. Brilliant stuff.

 

[MyRevenge.]

This was an amazing read, you really got me thinking about how I play my game
I'll try what you suggest and hope to see my game improve...
Thanks :D

 

[PredictablyStubborn]

Nice and enlightening tips.

I hope I can think dynamically next time I play.

 

[mrbr0wn1e]

It's really enlightening, like a friendly slap on the head. Thank you very much for your wisdom.

 

[DaNuGuy]

Thanks for that, Alex. I need to be reminded of my roots from time to time.

 

[TK Wolf]

It's really enlightening, like a friendly slap on the head. Thank you very much for your wisdom.

My thoughts exactly. I've been starting to notice this in my game, but your thorough explanation gives me a lot more to think about.

Thanks man! =)

 

[Crazy Cloud]

This was a great read. As far as people complaining about the length of the post (like Yuna), it seems like they're people who already know the principle of proper spacing. So why they would bother to comment negatively when the post didn't have much benefit for them in the first place is beyond me. It's not like it's affecting them, and if it is "lengthy" to such a point that it hurts more than it helps, then aren't they more than welcome to make their own?

But yeah, great read.

 

[Quez256]

Where is Rosencrantz?

Anyone else see that coming? Good read btw ^_^

 

[cwjalex]

Anyone else see that coming? Good read btw ^_^

you're assuming that the average smashboard user is familiar with billy shakespeare

 

[Quez256]

This is a really good read. Surprisingly, haven't read such a thing like this on melee either. This should definitely help players trying to get out of the scrub zone.




IMO, you just have to know how to use Marth from Melee to be good with him which isn't too much of a deal. And Metaknight is cheap and easy to use... Walk up. Ftilt. Space it right, you win.

Interesting, since I started maining MK, I believe you mean the f-air, n-air, and dsmash. Cheap is a bit off-center as well; easy to use? Possibly; Easy to use well? There's something different altogether

 

[Quez256]

you're assuming that the average smashboard user is familiar with billy shakespeare

Well, there's at least 2 in this thread ^_^. the praise was aimed at the topic btw.

Edit: Pardon the double posting

 

[Sterowent]

This lesson has shown me a few flaws in my gameplay, it seems.
Attacking far too often, sometimes recklessly...and heavy rolling. Musta picked that up from Online then.

I'm sure it'll help when i start keeping this in mind as well...

Thank you for the wise words!

 

[Emblem Lord]

Good thread.

Chill out Yuna.

 

[VEC]

I don't need to read this, I keep winning

 

[DragonMasterHawk]

When playing with various people I frequently hear someone say after just losing a stock, "****, I should have done ______" and they ponder what they should have done differently in that particular situation. What they SHOULD be thinking is, "how did I let myself get up to 150% before that last hit removed a stock"

Well, that hits really close to home. I do that all the time. Good read; really good.

 

[boom-man97]

woh! this is good advice!
i should try this...

 

[Devil7]

At the same time, playing Marth is by no means an instant victory...a lot of people I run into that claim Marth is cheap, yet can't play him themselves say that he is "boring". You still have to be good to win. Please don't say he is cheap if you can't do well with him yourself. (the general you, not you specifically)

To a good smasher you don't have a good character you have to know your character inside and out. I have friends that play shiek, marth, and pit and lose constantly to my ganondorf.

G'dorf has pick up the rep as one of the worst characters in brawl, more so since i don't see a lot if any one playing him online. But i know him and his everymove. i know how much each attack does and how fast that damage diminishes i know at what percent a smash from most characters can kill at and most importantly his reaction time.

as the old adage goes "intelligent people solve problems, geniuses prevent them ever happening."

 

[Deleted member]

...............

 

[BDawgPHD]

I don't know if this was mentioned, but this will clearly be key in the development of the meta game of Brawl. It wasn't so much so in Melee because of limited defensive options...technical skill just took far more precedence over tactical skill. Brawl is the exact opposite, for the most part.

 

[The Executive]

This helps a lot with Toon Link. His spacing game is great with the bombs, and if you keep damage low you can even spring the occasional bomb on yourself to fake people out without having to worry about dying. It's great for floating over and b-airing shorter characters.

 

[mugwhump]

This is a really excellent thread. Tries to communicate essential knowledge that a lot of advanced players take for granted, showing new folk the practical meaning of the nebulous "mindgames" that are always mentioned, but never articulated. I thought it was well-written (at least more so than the vast majority of things on smashboards), and considering the subject matter it was trying to convey I thought the word-count was appropriate. Yuna's criticisms are misplaced.

 

[showdownkiller]

This is a help to me. My foremost concern has been to not be predictable, as I feel that lowering my predictability helps hide the fact that I don't know what I'm doing . This post, however, gives me hope that someday I will know what I'm doing. And as a complete n00b to smash, it helps.


And I have to agree that I find Yuna's posts tend to be a little bit sharper or more inflammatory than they need to be, though I'm not personally bothered by them.

 

[TLMarth]

This post is helpful and made of win (lol).
Must be stickied.

 

[Crizthakidd]

what i dont get is, this whole learning when to use attacks, camp effectivly, dont get hit. this makes for a very deffensively, slow game

would u want to watch that? competition occurs when theres excitement and thrill and many are interested. but just watch 2 pro pits go at it.... just sh f-airs and bairs to kill while abusing brawls new DI

 

[Chrono Centaur]

this is common sense? rite?

or is smashboards really that filled up with scrubs?

 

[Warrior_J]

good thread, this reminds me of the old link to the site about "playing to win".

 

[ChokE]

got any other tips you might want to share? very well written.

 

[Runeblade279]

Very very very good information, it's not the usual "play defensively in brawl nub" crap, it's what applies directly to your game and also to SSBM or even the original. Stay untelegraphed.

 

[Eazy23]

Nice job man, hopefully every new brawl player will come across a thread like this.

 

[Sweetical]

to the original poster

Yeah, this is why I get so bored playing random matches online.

Smashers found randomly online don't try to stay alive, they just try to kill, not unlike rabid squirrels.

Lets face it, if a rabbid squirrel came after you, it would be toasted like a poptart. I guess you could say the same about the average online smasher.

No offense to anyone who is an average online smasher or has a pet squirrel, but read the post and it will do you good.

(Remember that it is ilegal to harm squirrels for no reason. This post does not encourage the harm of squirrels or other such animals. )

(but really)

 

[iphaded]

Coming from a smash newbie, this is awesome. I keep referring back to this thread whenever I feel myself lose focus or becoming too predictable.

 

[islyfe]

Great post, we need more threads like this.

 

[AlAxe]

Awesome post. I'm definitely going to try the practicing against a level 1-3 bot instead of the level 9s that I always train against. This should probably even be stickied. I always see posts by new players asking about how to do situational advanced techs when this is what they should be learning.

The next thing to do now is to make a thread similar to this for each character so we can get into character specific ways to carry out what's discussed in the first post.

 

[ellelaby's younger brother]

I ask you one question "How do you not get hit?" You always have to get hit if your running away. You can't just run away the whole unless your a stupid enough to listen to this advice. "How are you meant to attack when your running away and blocking the whole match?" Nice advice, I read the first few lines and I stopped reading.

 

[Devil7]

he's saying become good enough so you can read your opponents every move and counter attack. you don't always have to be moving it not like your opponent can attack you when their flying off the stage to their deaths. An example is i just had a tourney and in the first match i fought a mario who could touch me. we played three stock and i was at 93% with all three lives when i won. Don't put yourself in a situation where you are going to get hit becuase that damage adds up.

 

[Jaz]

I ask you one question "How do you not get hit?" You always have to get hit if your running away. You can't just run away the whole unless your a stupid enough to listen to this advice. "How are you meant to attack when your running away and blocking the whole match?" Nice advice, I read the first few lines and I stopped reading.

you should have kept reading on, this thread high lighted the bare necessity's of competitive smash, true its been done before but a bump thread with this topic is good for people new to smash boards in general, like yourself.

If your opponent is relentlessly attacking, are you going to be one of those people that charge links spin or a smash attack and hope for the best?
He's talking about reading your opponent, and better game play techniques to prepare yourself for things an opponent could throw at you

the person who is truly stupid is the person who sums up a post in 2 lines and criticises it.

 

[MarKO X]

I read the whole original post *not the thread itself* and this makes total sense. The whole concept of spacing... I do it in Street Fighter all the time *keeping my main eye on my opponent rather than myself*, but I had no idea that I wasn't doing that in Smash until this was brought to my attention.

Taking a level 1-3 CPU opponent seriously is a hillarious statement. But Level 9 CPU is a decent challenge in itself, and a lot smarter in Brawl, at least I think so.

But spacing, movement, and putting your whole eye on the opponent. Excellent advice.

 

[Kazmadan]

Once you master all these basics you'll realize you need to discard them again. Playing safe = playing predictable. You shouldn't calculate what the "safest" option is based on percentages or probability. You need to KNOW what your opponent is doing. Play more traditional fighting games like Guilty Gear and you'll understand. The best players are only those who are able to apply and invent tricks, and able to react and read opponents tricks. Tricks and habits are the only things that disrupt the general flow of reading your opponent and vice versa.

If all you ever do is evaluate the safest approach, you're missing one of the most vital components of fighting games: risk. If you don't ever take risks, you should realize your locking yourself into a system you've created for yourself in order to make decisions. And once your opponent realizes your system, you're ****ed. Taking risks allows you to capitalize on false assumptions your opponent may have made.

I don't disagree with the OP, but just want to warn new players, especially those who haven't played other fighting games, that this is not the path to becoming the best, its a description of the basics as the OP said. The only thing that should ever truly determine the way you play is your opponent.

 

[cwjalex]

The only thing that should ever truly determine the way you play is your opponent.

That is exactly what I say in the post. I think you interpreted what I wrote incorrectly. I'm not saying to play safe and never approach. I am saying, directed toward many of the new smashers, play safe compared to the style of smash you are used to. The way most new smashers play is to just spam attacks without looking at their opponent. A lot of people interpret this thread as play defensively or safely, however all I'm trying to say is space yourself in between attacks and use moves that don't completely screw you over if you miss.