I thought to post this in the other thread, but I have a bit more to say and thought to simply make a new thread. This post is basically about early KO percents, so if you want to skip to the numbers just scroll down until you see this ------------------
So, first of all, Samus is a character that depends on mind-games to KO more than others. She's also a character that requires more skill and finesse. So when you go into battle with Samus, you need to understand the stage and your opponent. I've done some research and found some interesting things regarding those issues.
First of all, most of Samus' KO's are horizontal. I'm talking about the Charge shot, Upward-angled Fsmash, and Utilt. Because they are horizontal, you need to decide when it is best to use these moves. Up until this research I realized I had been making some very silly mistakes, and as a result my Samus couldn't kill until upwards of 150% without gimping.
So, the thing is you have to go for KO's with Samus towards the edges of the stage. Sounds simple I know, but it makes a big difference. I'll use Wolf as an example.
Say Wolf is in the middle of FD. You are on the left. If you land a fresh CS when he is at 120% it's a KO. Now, the closer you get to the right with Wolf between you and the right edge, the lower the percent required to KO him. If you have him at the edge he just needs to be at 90% for the CS to KO him. Same thing with the AFS. KO's at 130% in the middle of the stage, and at 100% on the edge.
Dtilt, conversely, requires Wolf to be at at least 140% to KO, and it has to be fresh. So, the point is that Samus can KO as early as 90% if the correct set-up is used. With this said, I will now get into the numbers.
You need to know the stage and the character your fighting to be most effective. So here's some info to help with that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I used Wolf and Final Destination as starting point for these figures. This was done in training mode, so adjust the numbers a little for human players having perhaps better DI.
M.O.S. = Middle of stage, E.O.S. = End of stage, AFS= Upward-Angled Forward Smash
Samus vs. Wolf on Final Destination KO percents:
M.O.S.: CS=120%, AFS=130% Utilt=140%
E.O.S.: CS=90%, AFS=100% Utilt=100%
Dtilt=140%
Characters:
Wario: +10 all attacks
Snake: +10
Fox: -20
Falco: -10
DDD: +10
Sonic: Same, AFS -10
Marth: -10
G&W: -20, CS-10
R.O.B.: Same, CS+10
Toon Link: -10, CS same
MetaKnight: -10, Dtilt-20
Zelda: -10, Dtilt -20
Ike: +10, AFS same
Mario: Same
Lucas: Same, -10 Dtilt
Ness: Same, -10 Dtilt
Stages (Compared to FD):
Norfair: Top platform -30 vertical advantage, middle -20, bottom +10, Same horizontal
Lylat: Same horizontal, -10 vertical on platform
Wario Ware: -20 horizontal, -10 vertical middle platform, -20 vertical top platform
Halberd: -10 vertical on edges, -30 vertical on platform
Yoshi's Island: Same
Smashville: -10 vertical platorm, horizontal same
Super Circuit: -20 horizontal, +20 vertical on bottom
Battlefield: Same horizontal, -30 vertical top platform, -15 vertical middle platform
So, some characters have been left out, and some stages. However, I think the point is illustrated. Samus players have to go into battle with a strategy. Knowing your opponents character and the stage will help you develop your strategy. For example, if you're facing Fox on Halberd, you may want to save your Dtilt until you can use it on top of the platform when Fox is at 90%, instead of risking a CS or AFS at higher percents.
Anyway, hope this helps, and feel free to correct errors.
EDIT: By the way, may be obvious but I just thought to mention this. +10 means they have to be 10 points higher than Wolf to KO, - means they can be less. Same with the stages. Alright, that's all.
So, first of all, Samus is a character that depends on mind-games to KO more than others. She's also a character that requires more skill and finesse. So when you go into battle with Samus, you need to understand the stage and your opponent. I've done some research and found some interesting things regarding those issues.
First of all, most of Samus' KO's are horizontal. I'm talking about the Charge shot, Upward-angled Fsmash, and Utilt. Because they are horizontal, you need to decide when it is best to use these moves. Up until this research I realized I had been making some very silly mistakes, and as a result my Samus couldn't kill until upwards of 150% without gimping.
So, the thing is you have to go for KO's with Samus towards the edges of the stage. Sounds simple I know, but it makes a big difference. I'll use Wolf as an example.
Say Wolf is in the middle of FD. You are on the left. If you land a fresh CS when he is at 120% it's a KO. Now, the closer you get to the right with Wolf between you and the right edge, the lower the percent required to KO him. If you have him at the edge he just needs to be at 90% for the CS to KO him. Same thing with the AFS. KO's at 130% in the middle of the stage, and at 100% on the edge.
Dtilt, conversely, requires Wolf to be at at least 140% to KO, and it has to be fresh. So, the point is that Samus can KO as early as 90% if the correct set-up is used. With this said, I will now get into the numbers.
You need to know the stage and the character your fighting to be most effective. So here's some info to help with that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I used Wolf and Final Destination as starting point for these figures. This was done in training mode, so adjust the numbers a little for human players having perhaps better DI.
M.O.S. = Middle of stage, E.O.S. = End of stage, AFS= Upward-Angled Forward Smash
Samus vs. Wolf on Final Destination KO percents:
M.O.S.: CS=120%, AFS=130% Utilt=140%
E.O.S.: CS=90%, AFS=100% Utilt=100%
Dtilt=140%
Characters:
Wario: +10 all attacks
Snake: +10
Fox: -20
Falco: -10
DDD: +10
Sonic: Same, AFS -10
Marth: -10
G&W: -20, CS-10
R.O.B.: Same, CS+10
Toon Link: -10, CS same
MetaKnight: -10, Dtilt-20
Zelda: -10, Dtilt -20
Ike: +10, AFS same
Mario: Same
Lucas: Same, -10 Dtilt
Ness: Same, -10 Dtilt
Stages (Compared to FD):
Norfair: Top platform -30 vertical advantage, middle -20, bottom +10, Same horizontal
Lylat: Same horizontal, -10 vertical on platform
Wario Ware: -20 horizontal, -10 vertical middle platform, -20 vertical top platform
Halberd: -10 vertical on edges, -30 vertical on platform
Yoshi's Island: Same
Smashville: -10 vertical platorm, horizontal same
Super Circuit: -20 horizontal, +20 vertical on bottom
Battlefield: Same horizontal, -30 vertical top platform, -15 vertical middle platform
So, some characters have been left out, and some stages. However, I think the point is illustrated. Samus players have to go into battle with a strategy. Knowing your opponents character and the stage will help you develop your strategy. For example, if you're facing Fox on Halberd, you may want to save your Dtilt until you can use it on top of the platform when Fox is at 90%, instead of risking a CS or AFS at higher percents.
Anyway, hope this helps, and feel free to correct errors.
EDIT: By the way, may be obvious but I just thought to mention this. +10 means they have to be 10 points higher than Wolf to KO, - means they can be less. Same with the stages. Alright, that's all.