Meta Link's Metagame Thread (Informative Quotes Can Be Found in the OP)

[Rizen]

^Link's Fsmash shield pressure is really bad in this game, even worse than Brawl I've thought 'this should break the shield with both Fsmash hits' but it doesn't anymore. It's good to know Dsmash is Link's Shield breaker move.

I've been experimenting with different setups and jab 1 (or 2 but it's riskier because DI away)>Utilt is great except at max jab range or vs small characters in which case the Utilt will miss. Utilt seems to hit more in front of Link a bit off the ground so small characters can avoid it more easily and Link must be closer. Big characters should be the easiest to chain. I don't think this is a true combo but it connects easily and seems hard to escape because jab 1 (and 2) slightly raises the opponent.
At low %s, 0-30ish Link can jab>Utilt>Usmash and go for a SH Uair read. At 30-50ish Link can jab>Utilt then the opponent can double jump to escape but that leads to a Uair read or air dodge punish Usmash/Utilt. Above that % Link can jab>Utilt>SH/Jump Uair reading the opponent's DI. Keep in mind that Uair is stronger in SSB4 and has better damage scaling knock back than Dair.
This is a great juggling tactic for damage, positioning and kills. Utilt seems to be the most consistent jab cancel to land.

_________________
I tried out the custom moves now that I finally unlocked all of them. With the slight exception of the N64 boomerang, Link's standard moves seem as good or better all around than the customs. Some customs might be good in specific situations.

Spoiler

Spin attack:
Normal: the height buff from Brawl and attack make this universally the best.
Wind: Losing all hit bubbles sucks. The recovery distance is great but Link being vulnerable and not grabbing the ledge brings it down. Probably the best for doubles though.
Shocking: The attack still isn't great and losing the recovery isn't worth the trade off.

Arrows:
Normal: all around best choice. These can be charged to adjust the distance and work the best with other projectiles.
Quick bow: These are good for damage but don't have enough hitstun, range or launch power to be useful. Zair covers the range in which the would be used so they don't serve much purpose. Too bad they don't fly farther. These might be the best for team battles.
Strong bow: The power is fantastic but the charging time kills the potential. These are gimmicky and wouldn't work except in non-competitive 8 player smash or something.

Boomerangs:
Normal (Gale): the lesser damage makes this worse than the non gale boomerang. It was buffed from Brawl so tourneys without custom moves don't hurt Link much at all. I would like to see the wind affect tested more for gimping; it's slightly stronger and the boomerang flies farther than in brawl.
N64 Boomerang: Best choice. It has the exact same movement as the gale Boomerang but does more damage and damages when returning.
Ripping: this doesn't have enough hitstun or range to be useful. The start up makes it risky and it's hard to combo from. It might be good in doubles but the N64 Boomerang is probably better.

Bombs:
Normal: all around best choice again.
Meteor: The short fuse really kills a lot of potential. Pulling a bomb takes time and you must throw almost immediately after, which is very easy to read and avoid. It's a shame the fuse is so short because they have good combo and offstage potential otherwise.
Big: Not exploding or damaging the opponent on contact kills the potential. They can sort of be used for stage control but I think good players will get around them easily with aerial grab>quick throws.

 

[Zelkam]

^Link's Fsmash shield pressure is really bad in this game, even worse than Brawl I've thought 'this should break the shield with both Fsmash hits' but it doesn't anymore. It's good to know Dsmash is Link's Shield breaker move.

I've been experimenting with different setups and jab 1 (or 2 but it's riskier because DI away)>Utilt is great except at max jab range or vs small characters in which case the Utilt will miss. Utilt seems to hit more in front of Link a bit off the ground so small characters can avoid it more easily and Link must be closer. Big characters should be the easiest to chain. I don't think this is a true combo but it connects easily and seems hard to escape because jab 1 (and 2) slightly raises the opponent.
At low %s, 0-30ish Link can jab>Utilt>Usmash and go for a SH Uair read. At 30-50ish Link can jab>Utilt then the opponent can double jump to escape but that leads to a Uair read or air dodge punish Usmash/Utilt. Above that % Link can jab>Utilt>SH/Jump Uair reading the opponent's DI. Keep in mind that Uair is stronger in SSB4 and has better damage scaling knock back than Dair.
This is a great juggling tactic for damage, positioning and kills. Utilt seems to be the most consistent jab cancel to land.

_________________
I tried out the custom moves now that I finally unlocked all of them. With the slight exception of the N64 boomerang, Link's standard moves seem as good or better all around than the customs. Some customs might be good in specific situations.

Spoiler

Spin attack:
Normal: the height buff from Brawl and attack make this universally the best.
Wind: Losing all hit bubbles sucks. The recovery distance is great but Link being vulnerable and not grabbing the ledge brings it down. Probably the best for doubles though.
Shocking: The attack still isn't great and losing the recovery isn't worth the trade off.

Arrows:
Normal: all around best choice. These can be charged to adjust the distance and work the best with other projectiles.
Quick bow: These are good for damage but don't have enough hitstun, range or launch power to be useful. Zair covers the range in which the would be used so they don't serve much purpose. Too bad they don't fly farther. These might be the best for team battles.
Strong bow: The power is fantastic but the charging time kills the potential. These are gimmicky and wouldn't work except in non-competitive 8 player smash or something.

Boomerangs:
Normal (Gale): the lesser damage makes this worse than the non gale boomerang. It was buffed from Brawl so tourneys without custom moves don't hurt Link much at all. I would like to see the wind affect tested more for gimping; it's slightly stronger and the boomerang flies farther than in brawl.
N64 Boomerang: Best choice. It has the exact same movement as the gale Boomerang but does more damage and damages when returning.
Ripping: this doesn't have enough hitstun or range to be useful. The start up makes it risky and it's hard to combo from. It might be good in doubles but the N64 Boomerang is probably better.

Bombs:
Normal: all around best choice again.
Meteor: The short fuse really kills a lot of potential. Pulling a bomb takes time and you must throw almost immediately after, which is very easy to read and avoid. It's a shame the fuse is so short because they have good combo and offstage potential otherwise.
Big: Not exploding or damaging the opponent on contact kills the potential. They can sort of be used for stage control but I think good players will get around them easily with aerial grab>quick throws.

Jab 1 to Utilt becomes a true combo as higher percentage. Acording to the guide on AiB it starts at:
Light Weight: 80-85%+
Middle Weight: 90-100%+
Heavy Weight: 110-120%+

 

[PKBeam]

so much discussion.
I just jab -> dsmash when they get up to 120 and call it quits.
if their shield is low I sometimes go for a dsmash but it never breaks, it just pokes. and I don't get to do the charged Fsmash thing.

 

[Elessar]

A couple of combos I love doing are:

Jab 1 - útilt - Jab 1 - grab - pound till release - Jab 1 - útilt - nair - a tech chase appropriately.

Jab 1 - utilt - utilt - utilt (only heavy chars, with medium or light just skip this third utilt) - nair sourspot - tech chase appropriately.

Jab 1 - grab - pound till release - Jab 1 - smash attack (dsmash or fsmash though I usually go more for fsmash).

I know they are essentially the same with ending variations, but these variations are important since choosing the right one can lead to taking a stock or not. The variables to Consider are dmg (the 3rd combo is great to finish off opponents), position in stage (on a Plat, near the Ledge, in the middle, etc), as well as the opponent himself.

These three are very basic though and could easily be inserted into another combo depending on the situation.

 

[DarkDeity15]

So which of Link's moves dp you guys like/use the most? Mine is Dsmash. I love the hell out of it lol. Not only is it Link's fastest smash attack, but it has very decent kill potential, breaks shields, and landing the second swing will send people at a very horizontal angle, which almost always sends people offstage and will end any character with poor horizontal recoveries at fairly low %s. Even if they actually have a fairly good one, you're still put in agreat positional advantage for gimps, so landing a read with it is super rewarding.

Edit: Also, even if a fully charged dsmash doesn't break someone's shield, they're pushed back quite a bit, so punishing Link won't be quite as easy.

 

[Elessar]

Well the ones I mentioned are my basic combos. I try to use every move link has except grounded upB and dtilt. Now, the ones I use the most are definitively are jab, utilt, grab, ftilt, fsmash, fair, uair, nair, and bair. As you can see, that's pretty much every move again as I said.

It's important to understand that Link needs to use very move and special in his arsenal to win. He is a character that has a steep learing curve and has to work quite hard (maybe harder than the rest of the roste, maybe not) for every stock. He's a really technical, dynamic, fundamental based char so we need to learn him inside out and know every viable option he has at all times. We need, as mains, to lab more with him and know knockback angles, speeds, everything because we need to react before something happens most of the time to land a combo due to our low speed.

I love playing Link, as frustrating as it can be sometimes.

 

[Teh Sandwich]

One thing I find really effective with link, is his Bair. You can SH Bair and then jump out of it before hitting the ground. Sometimes I'll approach; SH Bair, jump back away and throw a projectile out. Or just return to neutral. Or you can; SH Bair, jump up/over them, and FF a nair or fair to punish their missed sheild grab attempt.

 

[Ryu_Ken]

I'm already pretty good at that, but I guess it's worth practicing lol.

Also, does anyone know if a Link can punt another Link's/Gay's bombs? It's pretty difficult to attempt with just two hands. I can imagine it being pretty useful in teams. Edit: Nevermind. Hitting Link's bombs actually do nothing but damage them.

On the other hand, not sure if it's been mentioned before already, but it's not in the OP. This needs a good name as well, so here you go.

There's no doubt a lot of ways this can be utilized.

I believe I have put this in the op (under Bombs). There was talk about this with @ Fox Is Openly Deceptive and @BryE.
I'm pretty busy right now, and I'm seeing some good stuff, so later tonight I'll do a sweep of the thread and add all the notable stuff

 

[DarkDeity15]

Well the ones I mentioned are my basic combos. I try to use every move link has except grounded upB and dtilt.

All of my this. I could never really find much use for grounded up b and I seldom use it at all, so I never really thought long and hard about it until now.

Here's a bit of data I collected using Fox, Final Destination, and uncharged and fully charged spin attacks. I'm not covering rage mode because I find that the differences are too small, even when Link is at 100%. I feel like Link's up b KB is unchanged by rage, but I could very well be wrong (not enough damage, maybe?).

Fully charged~ A fully charged spin attack kills Fox at a bit over 80% from center-stage and at a pretty alarming 60% near the edge of FD.

Uncharged~ An uncharged spin attack doesn't kill Fox until about 130% from center-stage, or until around 115% near the edge of FD.

So there it is. It turns out that uncharged spin attack isn't too bad of a kill move at the edges of the stage, but of course this may be negated by someone with good DI, so this was obviously done without someone with godly DI on Fox's end. Oh well lol.

But holy hell, a fully charged spin attack might as well be among the most powerful moves in the game. Like, holy ****. I don't remember it being this strong on the 3DS version. Not even the most godlike DI will save you at 100%. The only possible way to land it is with the hardest of reads, but that isn't too bad for how powerful it is when fully charged. Think of it as a slightly weaker and ever so slightly slower Warlock Punch that you can scale down by charging for less time.

I for sure now see grounded up b as a high-risk-high-reward or a hard-read-only type of move, but more the latter. I just hope someone decent manages to pull it off at a tourney while being recorded one day. I'd pay money to see that. Hype. Either way, I'll definitely be using this move more. What do you guys think?

 

[BurstPanther]

All of my this. I could never really find much use for grounded up b and I seldom use it at all, so I never really thought long and hard about it until now.

Here's a bit of data I collected using Fox, Final Destination, and uncharged and fully charged spin attacks. I'm not covering rage mode because I find that the differences are too small, even when Link is at 100%. I feel like Link's up b KB is unchanged by rage, but I could very well be wrong (not enough damage, maybe?).

Fully charged~ A fully charged spin attack kills Fox at a bit over 80% from center-stage and at a pretty alarming 60% near the edge of FD.

Uncharged~ An uncharged spin attack doesn't kill Fox until about 130% from center-stage, or until around 115% near the edge of FD.

So there it is. It turns out that uncharged spin attack isn't too bad of a kill move at the edges of the stage, but of course this may be negated by someone with good DI, so this was obviously done without someone with godly DI on Fox's end. Oh well lol.

But holy hell, a fully charged spin attack might as well be among the most powerful moves in the game. Like, holy ****. I don't remember it being this strong on the 3DS version. Not even the most godlike DI will save you at 100%. The only possible way to land it is with the hardest of reads, but that isn't too bad for how powerful it is when fully charged. Think of it as a slightly weaker and ever so slightly slower Warlock Punch that you can scale down by charging for less time.

I for sure now see grounded up b as a high-risk-high-reward or a hard-read-only type of move, but more the latter. I just hope someone decent manages to pull it off at a tourney while being recorded one day. I'd pay money to see that. Hype. Either way, I'll definitely be using this move more. What do you guys think?

I find the grounded Up B is great for covering both sides if you read a roll, it also has a couple hit boxes that are spread out over time, so even if you trigger it a little early or the opponent rolls late, it still covers it and provides sufficient knock back so you can recover from any lag.

 

[Elessar]

@ DarkDeity15 the problem with grounded upB, specially charged, is that it's too telegraphed, takes too long to come out, it has extreme hitlag, and it has only one big hitbox at the beginning then none. That means that if you miss it you'll get severely punisher, and chances are that you will miss if you charge it vs competent players. It is doable and it's good to know that info DarkDeity15 (though all lab should be done vs Mario) since it may come in handy, but it is an extremely situational move.

Big risk big payoff after all.

 

[BurstPanther]

@ DarkDeity15 the problem with grounded upB, specially charged, is that it's too telegraphed, takes too long to come out, it has extreme hitlag, and it has only one big hitbox at the beginning then none. That means that if you miss it you'll get severely punisher, and chances are that you will miss if you charge it vs competent players. It is doable and it's good to know that info DarkDeity15 (though all lab should be done vs Mario) since it may come in handy, but it is an extremely situational move.

Big risk big payoff after all.

Im fairly certain it has one at the end too, i know i've hit late with it

Last night while messing around in practice, i threw a bomb forward and it didn't explode on contact with the ground, i did this twice and tried to replicate what i had done but couldn't, has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Zelkam]

But holy hell, a fully charged spin attack might as well be among the most powerful moves in the game. Like, holy ****. I don't remember it being this strong on the 3DS version. Not even the most godlike DI will save you at 100%. The only possible way to land it is with the hardest of reads, but that isn't too bad for how powerful it is when fully charged. Think of it as a slightly weaker and ever so slightly slower Warlock Punch that you can scale down by charging for less time.

Fully charged sweet-spotted Dsmash 1 says hello

 

[DarkDeity15]

@ DarkDeity15 the problem with grounded upB, specially charged, is that it's too telegraphed, takes too long to come out, it has extreme hitlag, and it has only one big hitbox at the beginning then none. That means that if you miss it you'll get severely punisher, and chances are that you will miss if you charge it vs competent players. It is doable and it's good to know that info DarkDeity15 (though all lab should be done vs Mario) since it may come in handy, but it is an extremely situational move.

Big risk big payoff after all.

Well I pretty much never attempt it anyways, so adding it to my list of hard read moves wouldn't really hurt much if I use it sparringly. I'd much rather use Dsmash for reads in most cases anyhow for obvious reasons. But BurstPanther might have a point there. Hope it's true. And with Mario? Eh. Fox is Link's hardest MU, so I thought using him would be of more use, though I bet Mario would just die earlier.

*edited*

 

[Elessar]

Well I pretty much never attempt it anyways, so adding it to my list of hard read moves wouldn't really hurt much. But BurstPanther might have a point there. Hope it's true. And with Mario? Eh. Fox is Link's hardest MU, so I thought using him would be of more use, though I bet Mario would die earlier.

I'm simply saying that the standard for labbing is Mario. Everything that is tested in smash is always tested vs Mario.

Im fairly certain it has one at the end too, i know i've hit late with it

Last night while messing around in practice, i threw a bomb forward and it didn't explode on contact with the ground, i did this twice and tried to replicate what i had done but couldn't, has this happened to anyone else?

I has a very weak hitbox at the end, but that's it. Basically if the opponent powershields the first hitbox they are free to punish even before the move ends.

Also you did a soft throw. Check the Index thread, the instructional videos section for the guide of how to do soft throws.

 

[DarkDeity15]

I'm simply saying that the standard for labbing is Mario. Everything that is tested in smash is always tested vs Mario.

Guess it's back to the lab with Mario then. Also, I dunno what's with me today. All of a sudden I feel so productive, lol.

 

[Elessar]

Guess it's back to the lab with Mario then. Also, I dunno what's with me today. All of a sudden I feel so productive, lol.

Don't question it, just seize the day and lab like crazy.

 

[DarkDeity15]

Here ya go. Pretty wierd numbers I came up with but they're what showed up.

Uncharged spin attack does 12% damage.
Uncharged spin attack at ledge kills Mario starting at around 110%
Uncharged spin attack mid-stage kills Mario starting at around 125%

Fully charged spin attack does 19% damage.
Fully charged spin attack at ledge kills Mario starting at 60%
Fully charged spin attack mid-stage kills Mario starting at 85-88%

 

[Lawz.]

Here ya go. Pretty wierd numbers I came up with but they're what showed up.

Uncharged spin attack does 12% damage.
Uncharged spin attack at ledge kills Mario starting at around 110%
Uncharged spin attack mid-stage kills Mario starting at around 125%

Fully charged spin attack does 19% damage.
Fully charged spin attack at ledge kills Mario starting at 60%
Fully charged spin attack mid-stage kills Mario starting at 85-88%

Depending on what move you block it is very possible to kill with upb OoS. It's not the greatest option but it's also not the worst seeing how upb won't be scaled.

And at 110% kill range that's not bad.

 

[Zelkam]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't spin attack our fastest move that hits behind us? This is mostly what I use it for. Say I spot dodge a dash attack and the opponent ends up behind me, spin attack can be a good punish if their attack is laggy enough.

 

[Fox Is Openly Deceptive]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't spin attack our fastest move that hits behind us? This is mostly what I use it for. Say I spot dodge a dash attack and the opponent ends up behind me, spin attack can be a good punish if their attack is laggy enough.

That's actually an interesting question because the universal frame data chart doesn't say anything about the specials. I tested it out by putting it in '1/4 hold' in training mode then I did my actions at the same time as a Mario who was behind me held Jab facing away from me (which would making him continuously use Jab 1) and I visually compared the differences. Up-B is definitely up there with the better options, but it's actually faster to turn around and Jab, and it looks to be either exactly the same or slightly faster to turn around and D-smash. The problem with these options however is that the pivot and the Jab/D-smash can't be buffered together out of, in your example, a spotdodge, so you would have to be very precise with your timing in order to get the frame advantage over an Up-B.
Out of Shield, Up-B is definitely the fastest option to hit people behind you, but it's only slightly better than dropping shield, turning around and Jabbing which has much better range. So it really depends on how perfect your execution is, how far away they are, are they on kill percent, do you want to risk missing or having them shield your Up-B, etc.

 

[Oak~]

I find the grounded Up B is great for covering both sides if you read a roll, it also has a couple hit boxes that are spread out over time, so even if you trigger it a little early or the opponent rolls late, it still covers it and provides sufficient knock back so you can recover from any lag.

i find a great option for covering rolls if your'e able to read it is to just perfect pivot where you think they're going and use the end of the pivot to do a turn cancel with your f tilt. that chop is amazing, it wont ko easy but it leads into an easy juggle and getting them in the air plus it covers about the same area on either sides the same way up b does except it has very little lag after. the spin just doesn't have the same punch it did in melee, that first hitbox was like a canonball!

 

[Deleted member]

I typically throw out grounded Up-B as a kill off of Jab 1/Jab 2 at high percent, and like some have mentioned they do I like to use it for punishing rolls since D-smash sometimes is a little too slow I find (I'm too lazy to try and turn around and then hit with the first swing of D-Smash)

I also like to use U-tilt for that purpose, and it's become a habit of mine to do Jab 1 and then throw out a U-tilt trying to predict a roll behind if Jab 1 is shielded.

I've been trying to incorporate Jab 1/2 -> Grab into my habits more often, as that of course is a nice option if Jab 1/2 gets shielded.
Coincidentally Jab 1 -> Jab 2 -> Grab is something that works with my other character as well.

I have to say Link's Nair is up there as my "favorite" non-special move to throw out aside from Jab and U-tilt, it's my go-to option in the air and I like to use the late hitbox with a SHFF, which can go into jab (I typically SH --> Nair -->FF in order to hit with the late hitbox, continue into ground, and then go straight for the Jab string) pretty nicely at mid percent.

On another note I really like throwing bombs straight above my head and then backing up a little bit. It's nice little thing to have to keep an opponent from crossing that invisible X on the ground where the bomb will land and explode (if they're aware of their surroundings) or (my favorite) to catch them off guard with it and then combo it into a Uair for the kill.

I've gotten so many kills with:

Grounded "hard" bomb throw up -> slight retreat -> bomb pull and "hard" throw forward -> Uair.

A good amount of the the time either the opponent eats both bombs and then the Uair, or shields the one on the ground and then opens up and ends up taking the one I threw upwards, and then eating a Uair. Or some other variation.

Such a satisfying thing when it works.

 

[DarkDeity15]

Ugh. The timing for fthrow, bthrow bombslide or even fakeout bthrow is super strict. I've successfully performed them very few times and I don't think I've ever gotten an fthrow bombslide. All I can get consistantly is uthrow and uthrow fakeout. Any tips?

 

[Zelkam]

Ugh. The timing for fthrow, bthrow bombslide or even fakeout bthrow is super strict. I've successfully performed them very few times and I don't think I've ever gotten an fthrow bombslide. All I can get consistantly is uthrow and uthrow fakeout. Any tips?

Read through this thread:
http://smashboards.com/threads/question-wii-u-bombslide.379029/unread
After that, it all comes down to practice.

Alright, so I did a little lab work on spin attack. Spin attack hits in front on frame 11 and behind on frame 13. Comparatively, the fastest turn around jab I was able to pull off hit on frame 10 (3 frames for the turn around and 7 for the jab). This means that, theoretically, turn around Dsmash would hit on frame 12 (I didn't actually test this, I'm just going off of what I know from jab). So there's definitely faster options available to hit people behind you. I still don't think spin attack can be completely ruled out though.

I also did a little testing canceling jab 1 into spin attack. Jab 1 to spin attack becomes a true combo on Jigglypuff at 130%, Mario at 154% and Bowser at 177%. Jiggles was definitely the hardest one to pull it off on, and once her damage got too high it stopped working altogether. I would say that jab 1 to Utilt is definitely a better option for lightweights because it kills earlier and Utilt can hit them even when they're popped up at higher percentages. I think Jab 1 to spin attack could be useful vs middle to heavyweights, though, seeing as how its about the only option we have that deals a more horizontal knockback.

Of course, spin attack OoS is probably the most useful way to use it. With spin attack, Usmash, and bombs, Link has some pretty good OoS options. And then, like some guys have mentioned, it can be really useful for punishing rolls as well.

To finish it all off, here's a few cases I found where the spin attack was used and it payed off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCnAniHip2A#t=189
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=966piwSHn7w#t=57
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFxSnAci1Xw#t=166
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFxSnAci1Xw#t=186
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crzco84189Y#t=147
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crzco84189Y#t=308

 

[Drigo Toes]

I found that OoS Spin Attack is very useful when you are in a platform, and your oponent try to hit you with an aerial from below. Usually their DI is not prepare to respond, resulting in an eary kill (~100%-120%).

 

[Elessar]

I found that OoS Spin Attack is very useful when you are in a platform, and your oponent try to hit you with an aerial from below. Usually their DI is not prepare to respond, resulting in an eary kill (~100%-120%).

So does the upB hit under the platform, or how does that work?

 

[Drigo Toes]

Sorry... i will try to explain me better...

Suppose you are on the platform of SmashVille... Your opponent jump onto you from below to perform an aerial into your shield, high enough to hit you, but low enough to land into the ground after try to hit you (therefore, not landing on the platform).
As there is no landing animation, is hard to try to pull an OoS grab, and the opponent is not high enough to perform an OoS Up Smash. Spin Attack will hit them just when they are trying to Fast Falling into the ground from the platform, so the opponent DI will be very bad.

Is it more understandable?

 

[Ieven]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAfV6mTzCZ4

I made a video where i put several ideas that i had with Link. I think that a good part of these combo work, but i didn't try on every character.

For the Nair combos lock, obviously, that doesn't work on the characters that are too fin.

And for theses combo on Puff, i dunno if it works on other floaty character like Samus or Lucario, but i will test.

(That bombslide combo at the end look so sexy though )

 

[ShinTwist ScreamPaste]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAfV6mTzCZ4

I made a video where i put several ideas that i had with Link. I think that a good part of these combo work, but i didn't try on every character.

For the Nair combos lock, obviously, that doesn't work on the characters that are too fin.

And for theses combo on Puff, i dunno if it works on other floaty character like Samus or Lucario, but i will test.

(That bombslide combo at the end look so sexy though )

Traditionally most things are labbed on Mario, but that's just for reasons of % standardization and honestly arbitrary, so you will not see me complaining when someone tests something on multiple characters. Nothing too innovative here, but nice none the less and perhaps a good thing for newer players to the character to watch. Maybe post it in the video thread?


Edit: It's already there, I now look foolish. Nice work. Nice.

 

[ZSaberLink]

Any tips on how not to get grabbed when approaching an opponent with an FAir or a NAir? I think I keep going too close to the opponent when I do this, so if the opponent shields, they simply grab me after that =(.

 

[Lawz.]

Any tips on how not to get grabbed when approaching an opponent with an FAir or a NAir? I think I keep going too close to the opponent when I do this, so if the opponent shields, they simply grab me after that =(.

You really shouldn't be approaching with those moves. Anyone can simply shield the obvious attack that you're throwing out. Link has other options besides those moves, such as zair/projectiles to pressure the opponent.

Mix it up.

 

[Zelkam]

Any tips on how not to get grabbed when approaching an opponent with an FAir or a NAir? I think I keep going too close to the opponent when I do this, so if the opponent shields, they simply grab me after that =(.

Don't use Nair or Fair as an approach, problem solved.

Seriously though, both those options are not great for an approach. If you come down on someone with a Nair you want to always try to land behind them. If you land behind them then they can't grab you. With Fair you could possibly try spacing it so you hit with only the tip of the sword. As long as the opponent doesn't have a tether then you should probably be out of grab range. Honestly though, Fair isn't that great for approaches, it simply has too much landing lag. It can be a good follow up if you cover your approach with a projectile though. Both the bomb and the boomerang hit the opponent up into the air which can set them up nicely for a Fair to the face.

 

[Rizen]

If this is to be believed,
http://i.imgur.com/t80TyRa.png
http://smashboards.com/threads/all-character-landing-lag-frame-data.371503/
Fair is only 2 frames more than Bair and Nair. The only moves you have to worry about for landing lag are Uair, Dair and air dodge>zair. I'm not saying Fair is safe to land in front of opponents.
Adding to what's been said, you can buffer moves when landing so they come out on the first possible frame. Jab, Utilt, and roll dodge are the safest but not completely safe. Landing in front of an opponent is generally a bad idea (except with Zair spaced well).

 

[ZSaberLink]

Hm interesting. So it sounds like the approach s

If this is to be believed,

Fair is only 2 frames more than Bair and Nair. The only moves you have to worry about for landing lag are Uair, Dair and air dodge>zair. I'm not saying Fair is safe to land in front of opponents.
Adding to what's been said, you can buffer moves when landing so they come out on the first possible frame. Jab, Utilt, and roll dodge are the safest but not completely safe. Landing in front of an opponent is generally a bad idea (except with Zair spaced well).

(Apparently I can't quote Rizen's links because the forum thinks I'm posting a link -_-").

Thanks for all the replies so far! if I'm reading that correctly, Link's F/N/Bair has some of the lowest landing lag in the game? Sheik has similar stats for her aerials. Interesting... but I get the idea that start off with boomerang, bomb, ZAir for the approach and then if you hit them with them, then the aerials may be more useful.

Btw I rarely see the top Link players use arrows all that much. I understand not using charged ones while just standing, but the uncharged ones come out much faster than a Boomerang and they stop the opponent in their tracks for a bit. A quick arrow (in addition to other projectiles) seems to work fairly well on a character rushing in towards Link from my experience, but I realize I'm playing less experienced players.

 

[Elessar]

Hm interesting. So it sounds like the approach s


(Apparently I can't quote Rizen's links because the forum thinks I'm posting a link -_-").

Thanks for all the replies so far! if I'm reading that correctly, Link's F/N/Bair has some of the lowest landing lag in the game? Sheik has similar stats for her aerials. Interesting... but I get the idea that start off with boomerang, bomb, ZAir for the approach and then if you hit them with them, then the aerials may be more useful.

Btw I rarely see the top Link players use arrows all that much. I understand not using charged ones while just standing, but the uncharged ones come out much faster than a Boomerang and they stop the opponent in their tracks for a bit. A quick arrow (in addition to other projectiles) seems to work fairly well on a character rushing in towards Link from my experience, but I realize I'm playing less experienced players.

The reason for not using arrows that much is that they don't offer anything other than weak dmg. You can't follow them up with anything because of the end lag they have so you can't combo out of them and their knockback isn't that big as to be truly safe. In fact, some characters that are rushing you can react faster to getting hit with an arrow at point blank than you can, so you'll still get punished.

Personally I use arrows quite often, but only when the opponent is far enough for me to not worry about a punish. I use them to either push them off stage when they're near the ledge/on a platform, or to force a grounded approach.

 

[Zelkam]

Hm interesting. So it sounds like the approach s


(Apparently I can't quote Rizen's links because the forum thinks I'm posting a link -_-").

Thanks for all the replies so far! if I'm reading that correctly, Link's F/N/Bair has some of the lowest landing lag in the game? Sheik has similar stats for her aerials. Interesting... but I get the idea that start off with boomerang, bomb, ZAir for the approach and then if you hit them with them, then the aerials may be more useful.

Btw I rarely see the top Link players use arrows all that much. I understand not using charged ones while just standing, but the uncharged ones come out much faster than a Boomerang and they stop the opponent in their tracks for a bit. A quick arrow (in addition to other projectiles) seems to work fairly well on a character rushing in towards Link from my experience, but I realize I'm playing less experienced players.

I have a tendency to use an uncharged arrow to stop an oncoming approach as I'm landing back on the stage. Its a habit I picked up when quick draw arrows were a thing. About the only other time I use arrows is on recovering opponents. Charged arrows have a good bit of knockback at higher percentages and they have the most horizontal launch trajectory out of our three projectiles. And even if the opponent avoids it, you've most likely just forced them into a high recovery which can be punished.

 

[Elessar]

I want to share this video. I know it is on SF but this is a fundamental of competitive fighting games. You have seen me say "hit confirm" before and some of you are probably wondering what it is because we've never explained what it is and this is not common knowledge. So, watch this video and apply the same notion to smash to know what a smash confirm is.

In short, hit confirm is doing a jab before smashing or tilting. This way you can confirm whether your hit landed or not. if it lands, you cancel the jab into a smash or combo. If the opponent blocks, you cancel the jab into a grab. This way your hits become safer and the chances of getting punished for smashing a shield are reduced.

 

[Rizen]

I found an interesting new Gale Boomerang AT:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnrAkUvkR8c
If you space the Gale Boomerang so the attack has just ended the wind will catch and pull the opponent without going past them. The spacing is consistent and can be adjusted with tilt or smash strength throws.

 

[Jedisupersonic]

I'm having issues playing Link vs Pikachu in this game, I can usually adapt to faster characters when I play as Link but it seems like Pikachus just wreck me. (Same goes for every other game but I digress lol).