Louie's Notes-Olimar Q&A Thread!!

[Youngster Joey]

Can olimar make every character approach? I see a lot of olimars approach I think but everyone tells me not to. I think I'm neutral most of the time tho. When should I start approaching?

 

[Sky Pirate]

Thanks for the answers to my question. I was wondering, is there any controller set-ups that are more effective for playing olimar then the standard one? I heard of players using b-sticking or setting r to attack, are any of these control methods better?

Really more about personal preference.
For example, some prefer using "R" (set to Attack) for DACUS, but I found it easier to use C-Stick and "Z".
I know some prefer "Y" set to shield (for easy powershields) or grab (can't remember why).

I set "Y" to Special to easily jump-cancel UpB (or if I don't want to reach for "B") and "R" to attack for item play (with Diddy, ZSS).
Many Olimars prefer setting tap jump to "off" to make Instant Return easier to perform.

There's a topic on controller setup discussion, if you want more ideas:
http://smashboards.com/threads/306064/

 

[SSS]

Y is just easier for me and it wasn't doing anything anyway.

Is there a point to Ftilt? Or can Dtilt replace it in pretty much every instance?

 

[DtJ Hilt]

Both are pretty bad. But yeah, if you're um... deciding between the two, Dtilt is... better? Not as bad? Haha. They both have their rare, situational, barely practical gimmicks, but outside of that they're you can pretty much ignore them.

 

[Roy Renard]

Well, I got introduced to the competitive scene about a couple of months ago, and I think I have improved a lot and that now, my Olimar is somewhat decent, so I feel like a complete noob asking this... but it has to be asked!
After watching videos of the best Olimars out there, I have noticed that, when hanging from the ledge and according to the situation, they would let off and U-Air through the stage in order to clean the viccinities and return to the stage safely. I have searched for threads or similars that explained how to do this exactly, but to no avail. I would try it out in Training Mode through trial & error, but I can't do it consistently, unless I have Tap Jump On (by doing a complete circle with the joystick counterclock-wise at the left ledge, and clockwise at the right ledge, while holding the C-Stick up once the second jump is used), which, as far as I know, is not really good for Olimar.
So, what is the best way to do this consistently? Do you let go of the ledge by holding the control stick down or to the opposite direction of the stage? Is it ok if I have to tether after this or the sole momentum granted by the U-Air should be enough to re-grab the ledge?
Thanks in advance (;

 

[BSL]

Ftilt and dtilt are swag as ****.

 

[Sky Pirate]

Well, I got introduced to the competitive scene about a couple of months ago, and I think I have improved a lot and that now, my Olimar is somewhat decent, so I feel like a complete noob asking this... but it has to be asked!
After watching videos of the best Olimars out there, I have noticed that, when hanging from the ledge and according to the situation, they would let off and U-Air through the stage in order to clean the viccinities and return to the stage safely. I have searched for threads or similars that explained how to do this exactly, but to no avail. I would try it out in Training Mode through trial & error, but I can't do it consistently, unless I have Tap Jump On (by doing a complete circle with the joystick counterclock-wise at the left ledge, and clockwise at the right ledge, while holding the C-Stick up once the second jump is used), which, as far as I know, is not really good for Olimar.
So, what is the best way to do this consistently? Do you let go of the ledge by holding the control stick down or to the opposite direction of the stage? Is it ok if I have to tether after this or the sole momentum granted by the U-Air should be enough to re-grab the ledge?
Thanks in advance (;

This is how I do it:

1. Drop off of the ledge.
I push "Down" on the control stick slightly to do this, but you have to be aware of what you're doing.
You can fast fall it or just do it normally, but you should know which you're doing because the timing for the jump will change.
You can press in the direction opposite the direction you're facing to do so, I just prefer pressing down.

2. Wait a moment to ensure that you'll be even with or under the ledge after using the second jump.
During the time that you're falling, you can adjust your horizontal position to choose where your fastfall will land, start holding up on the control stick for the Uair, or both by holding diagonally up and left/right.

3. Roll your thumb from "X" to "A" (assuming you have "X" set to jump and "A" to attack).
This is inputting an attack immediately after jumping. If you held up on the control stick in the previous step, an Uair will come out. If you held nothing, it'll be a Nair.

4. If you ended up even with the ledge after the Uair finishes, you should regrab the ledge automatically.
If not, you'll need to tether. If you're under a solid ledge (like the ones on FD), you'll have to drift back out from under it before tethering.

Can olimar make every character approach? I see a lot of olimars approach I think but everyone tells me not to. I think I'm neutral most of the time tho. When should I start approaching?

Olimar's Pikmin are excellent shields. IIRC, the only characters you might not actually outcamp are Fox/Falco/Wolf.
You should "approach" if the situation isn't profitable for you, like if the opponent is at an easy kill percentage and has no intention of approaching whilst you are at a relatively low percentage

-OR-

if the opponent is offstage/on the ledge/in the air and you could create a high-pressure situation by getting under/zoning them

-OR-

to catch them off-guard.

I'm sure there are several other circumstances that I'm forgetting.
For example, Kirby with Olimar's power can be difficult to deal with without approaching and powershielding the pikmin.
If anyone wants to add to this, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Youngster Joey]

The metaknight like to practice with low level CPUs set to 99 stocks offline sometimes. Do you recommend this for olimar?

And also how do I deal with ice climbers??? I almost beat the ice climbers I recently fought in tournament game one. My biggest mistake was 2 stocking his mk after in game 2.. I should have let it be close so he stayed mk. Then he went back to ice climbers to win the set my strategy is to grab one of them then d smash. But in all my friendlies I got 2 stocked by so many different ones all day

 

[Dnyce]

Thanks for the answers to my question. I was wondering, is there any controller set-ups that are more effective for playing olimar then the standard one? I heard of players using b-sticking or setting r to attack, are any of these control methods better?

Based on the standard GCN controller settings, the main advantages of mapping a shoulder button (L/R/Z) to attack for Olimar are (1) Makes DACUS easier to input and (2) gives you the ability to charge smashes input with the c-stick. I myself set Z to attack, R to jump, and Y to grab, tap jump off.

 

[BSL]

You can charge smashes with Z and c stick when you have default controls.

 

[infiniteV115]

Why do I never see Olimar's nairing/utilting when being approached by a gliding MK? Multi-hit non-transcendent moves work wonders against MK's glide, and they're non-transcendent, correct?

 

[brawlyoshi3]

Hi there! Kind of new to the competitive scene. I mean Ive been playing with but not actually applying myself to the fullest. I've been playing Olimar for a while and was just asking for general tips. One question how should I play Olimar? A campy Pikmin (a smart one though) or a slow strong Marth? Any other tips?

 

[brawlyoshi3]

Just a couple of questions. Does our grab outprioritize mk tornado? And does our d-tilt outprioritize mk d-tilt?

 

[kelumhi]

The metaknight like to practice with low level CPUs set to 99 stocks offline sometimes. Do you recommend this for olimar?

Its kinda only useful for learning about your move's hit-box/sweat spot/frames and practicing low percent combos, but real people DI so combos are a little different in a real setting.

Just a couple of questions. Does our grab outprioritize mk tornado? And does our d-tilt outprioritize mk d-tilt?

Our grab will out range metaknight's tornado, but the problem is that sometimes he will move closer to us and damage us before the grab connects (which cancels the grab). One of the tools i use to get around this is pivot grabs, which will grab most MK out of the nado on any pickman but a purple. To counter this a MK might try to go over the grab, but if you know hes about to you can attack the base with a yellow, Up-b into it, or just out wait him since he is helpless after the Nado if it ends mid air.

No idea on the d-Tilt.

I've been playing Olimar for a while and was just asking for general tips. One question how should I play Olimar? A campy Pikmin (a smart one though) or a slow strong Marth? Any other tips?

Its generally a good idea to camp until they get into range then just fight them back and then go back to camping. As for general tips:

1: Learn the range and timing of your moves
2: DI up when being Launched or fighting by the edge
3: When camping, short hop->fastfall (this leads to your pickman throw being super safe)
4: Down throw at low percentage, and go for combos. (if you get a lucky read on their DI you can end up with 40-80% on most characters)

 

[BSL]

I'd imagine MK's dtilt beats ours because ours also has a hurtbox.

 

[Deisel]

Hi everybody, I'm Deisel! I am a pikachu main new to the competitive scene. I have never participated in tourneys and such, but i'm hoping to soon! I was going to try and get a good solid Olimar for my secondary. Only thing is, I don't really know where to begin.... Any help on that? Where do I start?

 

[SSS]

Hi everybody, I'm Deisel! I am a pikachu main new to the competitive scene. I have never participated in tourneys and such, but i'm hoping to soon! I was going to try and get a good solid Olimar for my secondary. Only thing is, I don't really know where to begin.... Any help on that? Where do I start?

I'm learning him, too.

Learn the Pikmin. White is good for grabbing (but throws with white are awful) and for his side-B. Purple is God at killing, but lacks range (and speed, I think?). Yellows are great for spacing, and have more smash range than any other Pikmin other than white (but Yellers are stronger). I use Yellows for spiking, because all Yellow sweetspots are bigger. Blues are also God at killing, maybe even better than Purple in certain situations (Blue has a much bigger range, and is only slightly weaker, killing at perhaps 20% more damage than Purps). Reds are good for smashing and I think have the strongest Fair, but they're probably the worst. Blues are my personal favorite.

Learn how to throw Pikmin effectively. If you think you're being too gay with how you throw Pikminz, you're playing Lolimar correctly.

Grab. Omg grab. His pivot grab is sex. His down throw combos are sex. Blue back throw kills at laughably low percents. Purps up throw, too.

Smash. He is arguably the best smasher in the game. Use that C-stick.

Learn his little combos. Of course his dthrow combos are what make him famous, but there are other, littler combos that can be used more often than at low percents, like Uair to Nair (if they air dodge through the Uair, they'll be hit by the Nair).

Learn his good moves. Learn his bad moves. Don't use the bad moves. Some people like to think that not using all of the moves a character has isn't living up to that character's full potential. False. In fact, using the crappy moves just to use them is actually reducing how well the character can be. Maximize strengths (grabs, smashes, Pikminz). Minimize weaknesses (terribad recovery).

Watch videos. Ask questions. Read guides. Practice. Fight real people. Mindgamez to the max. Etc.

 

[Roy Renard]

Which can be effective ways to deal with Ness? As far as I know, even though he is low tier, the Ness MU is even, but I'm finding it pretty hard to deal with his PK-Fire, dash attacks and f-airs. I'm used to discard red Pikmin when possible and any non-blue/purple Pikmin when the opponent is at high percentages; but, is it a good idea to keep them in this MU? Can yellow Pikmin outrange/outprioritize Ness's f-airs/similar moves, and if so, are they safe enough to counter approaches with said moves?

 

[BSL]

Power shield PK fire, whistle -> punish dash attacks

Kind of making this up, I haven't ever played this matchup iirc.

 

[Roy Renard]

I mean, it's more complicated than that. PK Fire spam > Pikmin spam, forcing us to approach, and even in close-range combat, PK Fire > our grabs/smashes/f-airs. Not to say anything about his f-airs, which are too disjointed to counter with our own f-airs (except yellow Pikmin f-air, perhaps, I'm not sure), and his dash attack, which is almost a copypasta of his f-air, but grounded, cannot be shieldgrabbed, as far as I know.

 

[FrankrocK]

I have question, first i do not master the language '' english '' so sorry for my bad english thank you!
I'm going to play olimar at a tourney today. i feel scared of some characters
-Zero suit samus
-Diddy
-Meta knight
-Marth

Can you tell me what to do against these toons ?
it would be really appriciated!

 

[FredFuchs]

i just switched my main to olimar. like every olimar, getting pressured is a big issue. how do you guys get out of those situations when your opponent is too close and maintain that space?

 

[BSL]

I whistle a hit into a punish, like dsmash or uptilt.

Shield grabbing, powershield into upsmash, nair OoS are all good options, IMO. Then Fsmashes to increase distance or just straight up run away and throw pikmin.

 

[DtJ Hilt]

@Fred, the first thing to note is that you have to approach every game with the mindset of not letting them close that gap if at all possible. Try to make decisions based on whether or not it could lead you to having an opening in your defenses, and stay safe. This doesn't have to entire be "run away all the time", though.

But they're definitely going to get in every once in awhile. During the early stages of playing Olimar, one or two of these situations could mean the loss of a stock. The better you get as Olimar, the less likely each individual situation will have of costing you your stock.

But to get to the point and answer your question

Up Smash OOS. Learn this. I'm going to make a new post soon detailing how to Up Smash OOS and why it's so good for those don't know. You may already know how or you may not. But either way, good god does it solves this problem. I don't want to make the post yet because I'm half asleep, haha.

Don't be afraid to jump. That's often something Olimars forget, since he can be so vulnerable in the air a large majority of the time. But even though it may not always be as good of an option, it's still an option nonetheless. And additional options gives your opponent a less likely chance of predicting your escape.

Don't be afraid to roll. Don't get me wrong, rolling has its disadvantages, but with how poor Olimar can be close up, it has its situations when the opponent commits to something laggy on your shield.

Timely whistles. If you choose to jump away from your opponent, whistle as soon as you do. I often preach to new players to whistle as soon as you use your second jump during your recovery. The same can be said about your initial jump when getting out of pressure (because you don't want to double jump, of course). It gives you enough time to get away from your opponent, with how long the super armor lasts. Keep in mind that if you jump to get away the game of "how do I get space" doesn't end but restarts with you in a better position.

There are obviously other options to get space as well, if you predict a break in your opponent's pressure. Dsmash, Shield Grab, even sometimes... jab (ugh). Short Hopping a Nair OOS is wonderful as well and gives you that aerial maneuverability afterwards. SH Fair is okay, don't Dair, don't dtilt.

Any specific questions regarding this or Olimar in general? Going to try to be on here more often to answer questions.

 

[Osennecho]

I don't main Olimar or really play the character either, but I do play someone who does. He has trouble getting past my actually legit Jigglypuff's falling pound. Don't hate my Puff that has taken up to 2 stocks off pros. Anyways, this is one of the biggest things I have on him in this matchup and I'm wondering the best way for an Olimar to deal with it. I want to tell him/show him the post so that I can further advance my knowledge/abilities in this matchup. I generally out-space/weave through his Pikmin wall and do this and link it to any possible followups/reads. I've already gone from occasionally getting 3 stocked as Puff to winning most matches and occasionally 2 stocking him due to outplaying the matchup/being better at my character. I think he is personally both too lazy and embarrassed to ask for help on the matchup. Also, F Castle Siege.

 

[DtJ Hilt]

Up Smash Out of Shield

I want to make sure that as many Olimars know how to perform this as possible. It's so important to have in your arsenal when playing Olimar.

How to perform: If you have tap jump off, there are three steps required to Up Smash OOS. While holding your shield, tilt it upwards. While tiling your shield, press X or Y (whichever is set to jump) and then immediately afterwards press A.

Why it works: Shields can only be canceled by two methods (outside of rolls/dodges). You can either grab to end the shield or you can jump. In this situation, you're jumping to cancel your shield. During the very beginning of the jump, before the character actually leaves the ground, you're canceling the jump into an up smash. Since you're holding up on the control stick from tilting your shield, hitting A right after hitting X/Y will cause you to smash.

Why it's incredible: Normally it takes several frames for Olimar to drop his shield before he's able to do anything. If you were to try to Up Smash after dropping your shield, you would efficiently be doubling the amount of time you'd be waiting for the hitbox to happen. With how vulnerable Olimar is up close, especially when an opponent is pressuring his shield, this isn't something you can afford. Up Smash OOS gives you an option to punish opponents that carelessly attack your shield. And with one of your best killing options, no less!

Seriously: Learn this! If you don't already know how, practice it. Get it down perfectly. Abuse the hell out of it because it shuts so many characters down.

 

[FrankrocK]

Up Smash Out of Shield

I want to make sure that as many Olimars know how to perform this as possible. It's so important to have in your arsenal when playing Olimar.

How to perform: If you have tap jump off, there are three steps required to Up Smash OOS. While holding your shield, tilt it upwards. While tiling your shield, press X or Y (whichever is set to jump) and then immediately afterwards press A.

Why it works: Shields can only be canceled by two methods (outside of rolls/dodges). You can either grab to end the shield or you can jump. In this situation, you're jumping to cancel your shield. During the very beginning of the jump, before the character actually leaves the ground, you're canceling the jump into an up smash. Since you're holding up on the control stick from tilting your shield, hitting A right after hitting X/Y will cause you to smash.

Why it's incredible: Normally it takes several frames for Olimar to drop his shield before he's able to do anything. If you were to try to Up Smash after dropping your shield, you would efficiently be doubling the amount of time you'd be waiting for the hitbox to happen. With how vulnerable Olimar is up close, especially when an opponent is pressuring his shield, this isn't something you can afford. Up Smash OOS gives you an option to punish opponents that carelessly attack your shield. And with one of your best killing options, no less!

Seriously: Learn this! If you don't already know how, practice it. Get it down perfectly. Abuse the hell out of it because it shuts so many characters down.

Thank god i learned that now i have a week before my tourney with olmiar thanks a lot!

 

[FrankrocK]

I just did my tourney , I won 1 and lost another 4 place. Due to the lack of preperation vs marth. Can't you guys tell me the MU and how to and what not?
Should i config my controler differently for quicker grabd? dodge? or anything?
Thanks in advance
-Frank-

 

[-Vocal-]

I just did my tourney , I won 1 and lost another 4 place. Due to the lack of preperation vs marth. Can't you guys tell me the MU and how to and what not?
Should i config my controler differently for quicker grabd? dodge? or anything?
Thanks in advance
-Frank-

Step 1: Remove all ledges from the stage
Step 2: Cast "expelliarmus"

Just that simple







(As far as a real answer, I've been out of the scene so long that the matchup is probs a bit dif by now. I do remember that yellows are your best friend due to their longer range with Fair, Purples are great for ruining his spacing and setting up a wall, and blues are good for pivot grabbing some of his air approaches.)

 

[Sky Pirate]

Oh crap, didn't even see that there.
- Foxtrot away to stutterstepped Fsmash works surprisingly well
- Dsmash sends him at a really bad angle if you land it. Don't spam it, just slip it in sometimes.
- When he's recovering, Fsmash off the ledge and be careful about ledgehogging. If he does hit you with an UpB, it may stagespike you.
- His UpB is a highly-punishable DP, and Marths often use it as one (to cover gaps in their pressure, on wakeup, as a general offensive tool, etc). Bait it and punish with whatever you want (Dsmash is usually preferable).
- Rarely, you can meet their Fairs with a Fair of your own. Study the way they're fairing before doing this and don't make it a habit or you'll get DP'd.
- His SideB comes out incredibly fast (Frame 4, IIRC). IIRC, you can Usmash OoS between the third and fourth hits OR between any if they decide to stagger it.
- When getting back from the ledge, remember that you have as many tools in your arsenal to get back on as he does to keep you off. You can jump up, get up normally, drop off to Uair under the stage, drop off -> jump -> whistle, etc etc. They like to pivot grab our landings as well.

I had more, but got sidetracked. Sorry! ^^;

 

[FredFuchs]

i have another question. if i ever have to approach, what is the best way of dong so?

 

[Sky Pirate]

Very carefully. Spaced Fsmash/grab, max-distance purple toss to fair, etc.
Just make sure that you won't have to deal with someone suddenly running in, powershielding/spotdodging, and wrecking you for letting them in.

 

[Roy Renard]

Does anyone have tips on how to deal with Diddy? I have been having tons of trouble playing against him, especially since my Smash partner started maining him. I don't have the least idea of how to counter even the stupidest and most predictable of his approaches (bring out a banana, throw towards me then rush into a dash attack and following up with a random smash/f-air). I have tried shielding the banana, then picking it up, but he already is in my face with his fast an almost lagless dash attack. I have tried shielding the banana and then f-smash, but somehow, both attacks just cancel each other out. I know neither how to deal with him when up close and a banana in hand; I can't even grab when throwing the banana, nor after his stupid dash attack. Even in the air, his f-air outprioritizes our f-air. The same story with his f-tilt. I have tried countering with f-smash, to no avail, or grab it and have found that it has ridiculous range, so you can't even grab, unless perfectly spaced.
Also, what's the best I can do after a banana-induced trip followed-up by his dash attack? Which moves or Pikmin colors outprioritize his dash attack, f-tilt and f-air, and what's the best way to counter a banana-throwing/dash attacking/smash-happy Diddy?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Splice]

I'm also having trouble against Diddy. It is very hard to get grabs off against him due to his ability to punish things other characters can't punish (and he is safe too...) and basically I have no idea how to utilise the bananas with Olimar at all.

How do you guys find the bananas affect your Olimar? How do you deal with them and do you use them? How do you have to play when there are two bananas out and Diddy is holding one?

Thankyou very much

 

[Roy Renard]

Well, after a couple of weeks of trial & error and watching videos of good Olimars vs Diddy's (Nietono vs ADHD or Dabuz vs ADHD) I somewhat got the hang out of the character.
Basically, you just need to pressure him into not using his bananas. If he throws one at you, shield it and pick it up as soon as possible, then throw it down or up or, if it suits the situation, throw it at him and dash + grab. If he tries to throw a banana at you and immediately dash attack/dash grab, just "shield grab" the banana. Since he'll run towards you after throwing the banana, your grab will catch him; downthrow, pick up the banana (which should be near you after shielding), throw it at him and run+grab. Just mix it up and stuff.
Also, after you downthrow him and run towards him for a follow-up, they tend to f-air while landing, so it's good to downthrow, then run+shield and grab again. I have found out that pivot grab is really good to punish his dash attacks as well.
Pikmin throw is your best friend to counter banana throws. Short hop fast-fallen Pikmin throws or normal Pikmin throws will disrupt the banana's trajectory, so be sure to start spamming Pikmin throws when you expect him to throw bananas at you. F-smash is also good to counter these approaches, especially if he is up close. Up-smash out of shield nullifies his aerial approaches... and up-B also works wonders for this.
In summary, just spam Pikmin throw when he is holding a banana, pick them up whenever you can and up/down throw and be sure to pressure him constantly with f-airs or grabs so that he can't bring more bananas into play. Just don't let him build up any momentum.

 

[Splice]

Thankyou. Because I'm starting from scratch with this MU any direction is helpful.
However, most of what you mentioned are ways of shutting down Diddys approach. I know Diddy has ways of trying to approach with much more minimal risk than what you are talking about. If I shield the banana he will react accordingly and not dash attack an Olimar in shield... or he would grab me while I'm still in shield lag from the banana if I didn't power shield. I'm also not sure how Olimar can sustain pikmin throws vs. bananas since it progressively moves the bananas closer to you and Diddy keeps full control of them the whole time. He can easily spotdodge the pikmin with no risk if he is holding a banana or there is one in front of him. I just don't see how I can sustain sideb campiness in this matchup.

Also; How can you stop Diddy with Olimar once he has built up momentum? Any respectable Diddy Kong isn't just going to 'not build up any momentum' and so it is important to learn how to take the least damage from this situation. With GnW I had to work very hard to stop one trip from becoming 50% straight on me. How do you guys find it with Diddy?

Also recovering against bananas what do?

 

[Tesh]

shield stun from bananas is almost nothing, a thrown banana wont combo into a grab or even give diddy a frame advantage because he has an animation to go through

zcatch bananas if you are in the air on or off stage, dont throw out aerials or dodges to catch them because item users want you to do something laggy

 

[OliClutch117]

What are the best ways to approach with Olimar?

 

[Roy Renard]

Spam Pikmin, wait for an opening and use a careful. spaced f-air (preferably with yellow, as it has more range). Other ways include: dash grab / or run, shield and act accordingly (U-smash OOS, or grab) / or SHAD + Up Smash / or jump and try to land with n-air, which combos into Up Smash. Do these only when your opponent is at kill percent and he refuses to approach, because that's the only situation where it's profitable to approach yourself. Otherwise, camp, spam Pikmin like crazy and bait your opponent into grabs and smashes.

 

[DtJ Hilt]

Main thing I want to make note of about the above is that dash grab is not suppose to be used as an approach. It should be a punish and nothing more. The amount of range you lose dash grabbing is extremely noticeable, in all honesty standing grab might be a better "approach", haha.

Walking towards the opponent and throwing out an fsmash or two is a good approach. Basically, you can't think of approaching with Olimar as you normally would otherwise. You're going to be focusing on closing space when you would be thinking about approaching. But rushing the opponent down like another character would be doing regularly? You won't be doing that so much. You aren't going to pressure the opponent with an approach and force a reaction like Marth, MK, Diddy or someone like that is able to do.