Ledge Recovery

[Pikklz]

I've noticed in all my VAST experience at smash (lol, or serious? well actually, mediocre) that often times, Falcos tend to get a little too predictable with their recoveries. I can pretty much count the typical choices on two nostrils: ledge-hopped dair or LHDL. People tend to spam those two every chance they find themselves on the ledge, and often times both end up being executed poorly (usually lasers too high), which usually leads to them getting gimped by a cc'd f-tilt or something.

Generally speaking, I have found it better to only perform a LHDL when the opponent is far enough where they cannot counterattack. Dairs are a more solid option of the two at close range, as long as you wait a little bit after the drop before jumping on, so you can l-cancel earlier. However, the best thing to do is mix it all up. Falco's roll at <100% is also pretty quick and you can buffer a c-stick roll for even more distance. Ledge wavedash to grab is a fairly surprising maneuver, considering Falco's lack of a grab game.

I'm fairly certain that this is common knowledge (hopefully), but I just wanted to bring it to the attention of people who complain about ledge gimps and whatnot (aka noobs/newbs?), or the people who didn't really want to read through the wall of text that is bornfidelity's guide, or even the decent players who just try to be a little too flashy. (and also not start off posting "zomg how do i slide on da ground wif the dust stuf?????? plz help me kthx im not nub!!")

I just felt like voicing my opinions/observations, even though they might not be necessary. Discuss/flame.

 

[TheZhuKeeper]

ledge reset -> waveland is amazing.

when people talk about ledge gimps, its not really about getting attacked when a falco is trying to get back to the stage from the ledge, its more about falco getting fthrowed by marth / sheik / fox etc and dying by something stupid like counter / dsmash / shine.

you have the right idea with when to use LHDL / ledge hop dairs / waveland / roll. one thing you didn't mention is ledge hop illusion, which is really nice against slow characters like peach.

 

[Vro]

Ledge hop illusion really switches things up. I've also been practicing getting my ledge hop uair as low as possible, since it has pretty quick lag time and is two hits.

 

[Eggm]

The Ledge hop forward b while still invincible is nice sometimes too.

 

[TheKneeOfJustice]

Zhu and Eggm are right. I LHDL people in the face though, because I usually clip them with a shine or grab right after. On stages like Yoshi's Story or battlefield though, I'll ledgehop waveland across the platform above the ledge. There's also ledge hop nair/shine-turn bair as well.

 

[ThreeX]

Ledge Hop To Fair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Pikklz]

Nuts. I had my reply typed out, went to shower, then came back and it was still posting, so I refreshed and it all went away

Anyway, fair is a great move. At lower percents, hitting every kick can net you 30%, which is just like fortress! In fact, why not do it out of shield? Fair across the ground into an edgehog! Better yet, why not spam jump -> fair -> edge cancel -> jump back onto the platform -> repeat? It's like a Falco style pseudo-WOP!
/sarcasm, although I bet phanna could/would do it

In all seriousness, fair can be used for lulz sometimes, or some good damage where they don't expect it. The problem I see with LHDLs to the face involves the difficulty of actually consistently landing the second laser low enough where you can shine or whatever immediately after. Unless it's executed pretty well, it's a simple matter to cc and counter. Ledge hop waveland bairs are always fun. Never thought about a shine turnaround bair, that seems pretty neat.

Also, is there any extra landing lag from an aerial illusion? I've never attempted it so I don't know, but it's a nifty idea. Speaking of illusions, difference between ledge hop and wall jump? From what I can tell, it's a slight difference in the timing for the opponent to counter.