Kage Me
Smash Ace
If you're reading this thread, chances are that you're new to the Ice Climbers. Either that, or you just want to read this guide for giggles. Whatever you are, an introduction might be in place. As you probably guessed from the title, this guide concerns the AI of Nana, and her general behaviour.
A side note. While I do briefly touch on the subjects of desynching and chaingrabs, this is not a guide for them. I refer you to this thread for everything this guide doesn't detail.
Definitions!
These are the terms that I'll use in this thread, and what I mean by them. They're important. That means you should remember them.
Synched: The default state of the Climbers. Both of them will do the same thing, Nana with a slight delay.
Desynched: In this state, the Ice Climbers are technically still synched, but unable to both take the same action - when you input the command, one of the Climbers is already doing something else.
Seperated: The worst possible situation for you, but also what this guide is essentially about. This is when the Ice Climbers are knocked seperate ways, or seperated by a long distance. At this point, you have full control over Popo, but Nana acts on her own, controlled by the AI.
SoPo: Nana KO'd, Popo still alive. This is bound to happen to you at some point. Obviously, you control just Popo at this point.
SoNa: Popo KO'd, Nana still alive. This won't happen often, and it's only a brief window. It's most common when Popo is grabbed, but it also happens when Popo is Star KO'd. During this time, Nana acts on her own, but if you input an attack command, she usually follows it. Not many opponents know this, so if it happens, make sure to go for a surprise KO or at least some extra damage or pressure.
So you're seperated.
At this point, Nana is completely left to her own AI. Let's examine her behavioural patterns, shall we?
Knocked off stage: Nana will jump towards the stage and use Belay to recover when she's below it, or horizontally knocked away. It's pretty basic, but be careful - Squall and Belay can force a synch, but if you use those moves while she does the Belay animation, chances are you'll fall to your doom. Also, I'd recommend using Belay to save Nana, since it has a bigger synch range.
If Nana is knocked at a high trajectory, she'll fall towards the stage and cover herself with Ice Blocks. It's possible to combo out of these with Popo if your opponent is stupid enough to get hit by them in is attempts to edgeguard Nana, but in any case they prevent approaches from downward, which is good. After falling past the stage, she'll use her second jump and Belay if she hadn't landed on it.
Seperated on-stage: Nana will rush towards you in the shortest line possible. If you are under attack, she has a good chance of attacking whoever is picking on you, but it's never guaranteed. If any opponents are between you and Nana, she'll sometimes attack, but often won't. It's up to you to ensure that they can't pick on your girlfriend.
Above stage: Nana will simply fall down, then proceed as above.
Grabbing the opponent: If Nana happens to grab the opponent while seperated, she'll do one to three headbutts (depending on your opponent's damage), then throw randomly in one of the four directions. REMEMBER: if your opponent is at a low %, they'll probably get released before Nana can throw. You can use this opportunity to grab with Popo, then continue with a chaingrab.
After using Belay: Not so much her AI, more part of the move. If she grabs onto the ledge, she'll pull you up to her. This gives her a lot of invincibility frames, and makes it so that Popo is active earlier than she is. You can use this to desynch your Climbers by letting Popo get up first, then having Nana follow.
A side note. While I do briefly touch on the subjects of desynching and chaingrabs, this is not a guide for them. I refer you to this thread for everything this guide doesn't detail.
Definitions!
These are the terms that I'll use in this thread, and what I mean by them. They're important. That means you should remember them.
Synched: The default state of the Climbers. Both of them will do the same thing, Nana with a slight delay.
Desynched: In this state, the Ice Climbers are technically still synched, but unable to both take the same action - when you input the command, one of the Climbers is already doing something else.
Seperated: The worst possible situation for you, but also what this guide is essentially about. This is when the Ice Climbers are knocked seperate ways, or seperated by a long distance. At this point, you have full control over Popo, but Nana acts on her own, controlled by the AI.
SoPo: Nana KO'd, Popo still alive. This is bound to happen to you at some point. Obviously, you control just Popo at this point.
SoNa: Popo KO'd, Nana still alive. This won't happen often, and it's only a brief window. It's most common when Popo is grabbed, but it also happens when Popo is Star KO'd. During this time, Nana acts on her own, but if you input an attack command, she usually follows it. Not many opponents know this, so if it happens, make sure to go for a surprise KO or at least some extra damage or pressure.
So you're seperated.
At this point, Nana is completely left to her own AI. Let's examine her behavioural patterns, shall we?
Knocked off stage: Nana will jump towards the stage and use Belay to recover when she's below it, or horizontally knocked away. It's pretty basic, but be careful - Squall and Belay can force a synch, but if you use those moves while she does the Belay animation, chances are you'll fall to your doom. Also, I'd recommend using Belay to save Nana, since it has a bigger synch range.
If Nana is knocked at a high trajectory, she'll fall towards the stage and cover herself with Ice Blocks. It's possible to combo out of these with Popo if your opponent is stupid enough to get hit by them in is attempts to edgeguard Nana, but in any case they prevent approaches from downward, which is good. After falling past the stage, she'll use her second jump and Belay if she hadn't landed on it.
Seperated on-stage: Nana will rush towards you in the shortest line possible. If you are under attack, she has a good chance of attacking whoever is picking on you, but it's never guaranteed. If any opponents are between you and Nana, she'll sometimes attack, but often won't. It's up to you to ensure that they can't pick on your girlfriend.
Above stage: Nana will simply fall down, then proceed as above.
Grabbing the opponent: If Nana happens to grab the opponent while seperated, she'll do one to three headbutts (depending on your opponent's damage), then throw randomly in one of the four directions. REMEMBER: if your opponent is at a low %, they'll probably get released before Nana can throw. You can use this opportunity to grab with Popo, then continue with a chaingrab.
After using Belay: Not so much her AI, more part of the move. If she grabs onto the ledge, she'll pull you up to her. This gives her a lot of invincibility frames, and makes it so that Popo is active earlier than she is. You can use this to desynch your Climbers by letting Popo get up first, then having Nana follow.
