Need help improving

[AggroFrag]

Hey all,

I've been having a wonderful time with this game so far! I've completed Adventure mode, Classic mode with all characters, and even completed all the achievements. However, as of late I've been having an issue.

I keep getting my @$$ handed to me online.

See, I've been able to enter elite smash online using Ridley after a night of pretty impressive games (for me, anyway), and now I cant seem to even win a game anymore. What tips do you have for someone who is trying to improve their game and (hopefully) start winning some matchups?

 

[Prince Fury- Roaring Lion]

What issues do you seem to be encountering? Your currently using King K. Rool i'm assuming? Are you having trouble winning neutral exchanges? Any particular character or issue giving you problems? Sorry for so many questions, just it's hard to give advice without knowing what your having trouble with. Happy Smashing to ya!

 

[AggroFrag]

What issues do you seem to be encountering? Your currently using King K. Rool i'm assuming? Are you having trouble winning neutral exchanges? Any particular character or issue giving you problems? Sorry for so many questions, just it's hard to give advice without knowing what your having trouble with. Happy Smashing to ya!

I've been using Ridley, actually! Let me go into specifics:
I would say I'm having most trouble with two specific things, winning the neutral exchanges and returning to the stage (which is one of Ridley's weaknesses, so I'm not surprised with that).
How should I react to opponents dash dancing, and what should i prioritize when in an advantage state?

 

[Orlando BCN]

How should I react to opponents dash dancing, and what should i prioritize when in an advantage state?

As you continue to play the game, you’ll find that it’s more important to focus on your opponent rather than yourself. You should already have an idea of the stage layout and your character’s moves and traits; now inspect what your opponent is doing. Max concentration is achieved when you’re zooming in on one character only. You’ll have much better chances to react to their movements without getting distracted by your own; think methodically and go with their flow.

If they dash dance, prepare for multiple outcomes. A bad guess is good, because your opponent will know that you are aware of a move that may be beneficial to you in the matchup. You can make them stop doing stupid things this way; if you used a move that’s good against jumpers, for instance, they’ll have a tendency to jump less, giving you a smaller number of options to deal with. If they don’t learn that you can predict them, however, it’s likely they’re not thinking straight.

Generally you’ll want to find the fastest move to counter attack with. Now I don’t know anything about Ridley, but jab and nair should be just fine for your opponent to respect you in the neutral. They’re fast and safe, from my experience with other heavies. Be sure to zone with his neutral B as well. His down B seems really unsafe, so whip it out when your opponent least expects is. As for when you’re in an advantageous state, keep up the pressure with quick attacks and pin them to the edge. Ridley’s side B makes this pretty easy to do, lol. Just watch out for any openings in your movement; be constantly on your guard, as you’ll never know if your opponent might use a 1-frame killer move like Dolphin Slash to quickly turn the tables.

 

[RepStar]

In 1 on 1 fights its better to play on omega stages to get rid of the platform **** that gets in the way, for one. Battlefield type stages suck, ridley needs a real fighting platform.

 

[AggroFrag]

As you continue to play the game, you’ll find that it’s more important to focus on your opponent rather than yourself. You should already have an idea of the stage layout and your character’s moves and traits; now inspect what your opponent is doing. Max concentration is achieved when you’re zooming in on one character only. You’ll have much better chances to react to their movements without getting distracted by your own; think methodically and go with their flow.

If they dash dance, prepare for multiple outcomes. A bad guess is good, because your opponent will know that you are aware of a move that may be beneficial to you in the matchup. You can make them stop doing stupid things this way; if you used a move that’s good against jumpers, for instance, they’ll have a tendency to jump less, giving you a smaller number of options to deal with. If they don’t learn that you can predict them, however, it’s likely they’re not thinking straight.

Generally you’ll want to find the fastest move to counter attack with. Now I don’t know anything about Ridley, but jab and nair should be just fine for your opponent to respect you in the neutral. They’re fast and safe, from my experience with other heavies. Be sure to zone with his neutral B as well. His down B seems really unsafe, so whip it out when your opponent least expects is. As for when you’re in an advantageous state, keep up the pressure with quick attacks and pin them to the edge. Ridley’s side B makes this pretty easy to do, lol. Just watch out for any openings in your movement; be constantly on your guard, as you’ll never know if your opponent might use a 1-frame killer move like Dolphin Slash to quickly turn the tables.

Thank you so much for this! I'm already seeing improvement after trying to focus in on my opponent during the match. I'll try to implement everything else mentioned over time.

 

[Crystanium]

Since you've been using Ridley, try learning to edge-guard with him off-stage. I'm not saying you have to go too far from the stage, but you should be able to n-air. A popular method for edge-guarding with Ridley is using Plasma Breath (neutral B), but that's really not all that effective, and you could get similar results just by firing a single fireball instead of charging the whole thing. Ridley's n-air is his best tool. Also, this game punishes players who just get up from the ledge. Attacking, rolling, or jumping are safer options, so if your opponent likes to just get up or jump from the ledge, try punishing with n-air.

Ridley's d-tilt will hit opponents who hang on the ledge. Characters who use tether grabs are safe from this. Another option is f-tilt, but angled diagonally downward. That should poke the opponent who hangs from the ledge. Ridley has a true combo from d-throw. You can use d-throw to f-air. D-throw to n-air may also work. If your opponent likes to dodge or shield a lot, try using Space Pirate Rush (side B). Because the start-up is delayed, it's effective against opponents who dodge, since their dodge animation will end before Ridley goes for the grab.

 

[Luigifan18]

As you continue to play the game, you’ll find that it’s more important to focus on your opponent rather than yourself. You should already have an idea of the stage layout and your character’s moves and traits; now inspect what your opponent is doing. Max concentration is achieved when you’re zooming in on one character only. You’ll have much better chances to react to their movements without getting distracted by your own; think methodically and go with their flow.

Thank you so much for this! I'm already seeing improvement after trying to focus in on my opponent during the match. I'll try to implement everything else mentioned over time.

You do realize this advice is only good for tournament-rules play, right? Focusing on one player (other than yourself) is probably the worst thing you can do in 2v2/team or free-for-all battles, and that's with items and hazards off; with stuff like loose Bob-ombs and Arwings flying about, taking your eyes off of your own character can easily get you blasted.

Also, I have definitely killed myself in both Smash and Brawlhalla (on numerous occasions) by losing track of my position upon getting launched (or thinking I got launched when I didn't), thinking another player trying to make their way back to the stage is me, and "recovering" in the wrong direction entirely. Heck, I've done it as recently as yesterday. Don’t let it happen to you!

 

[Orlando BCN]

You do realize this advice is only good for tournament-rules play, right? Focusing on one player (other than yourself) is probably the worst thing you can do in 2v2/team or free-for-all battles, and that's with items and hazards off; with stuff like loose Bob-ombs and Arwings flying about, taking your eyes off of your own character can easily get you blasted.

Also, I have definitely killed myself in both Smash and Brawlhalla (on numerous occasions) by losing track of my position upon getting launched (or thinking I got launched when I didn't), thinking another player trying to make their way back to the stage is me, and "recovering" in the wrong direction entirely. Heck, I've done it as recently as yesterday. Don’t let it happen to you!

Would you be surprised if I told you Street Fighter was the first game I took seriously?

Not once did he mention playing with items or FFA with others. After all, Smash stops being a fighting game once a third player is involved. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[AggroFrag]

You do realize this advice is only good for tournament-rules play, right? Focusing on one player (other than yourself) is probably the worst thing you can do in 2v2/team or free-for-all battles, and that's with items and hazards off; with stuff like loose Bob-ombs and Arwings flying about, taking your eyes off of your own character can easily get you blasted.

Also, I have definitely killed myself in both Smash and Brawlhalla (on numerous occasions) by losing track of my position upon getting launched (or thinking I got launched when I didn't), thinking another player trying to make their way back to the stage is me, and "recovering" in the wrong direction entirely. Heck, I've done it as recently as yesterday. Don’t let it happen to you!

Yes, I do realize this is for 1-on-1 tournament style play, which is what I wanted advice on. I've been used to looking at my own character's position on screen from free-for-all games with my friends. The advice has been working for me in online 1v1 battles by the way

 

[Lampwick]

You do realize this advice is only good for tournament-rules play, right? Focusing on one player (other than yourself) is probably the worst thing you can do in 2v2/team or free-for-all battles, and that's with items and hazards off; with stuff like loose Bob-ombs and Arwings flying about, taking your eyes off of your own character can easily get you blasted.

Something tells me he wasn't referring to FFA/2v2. Also kind of bold to assume 1v1 is exclusively tournament level

 

[T-Donor66]

Getting back on stage is definitely not a weakness for Ridley. Its all about smartly managing your jumps, and you can use reverse up B to recover horizontally.

In 1 on 1 fights its better to play on omega stages to get rid of the platform **** that gets in the way, for one. Battlefield type stages suck, ridley needs a real fighting platform.

What? I main Ridley and his most dominant on battlefield. If you can only win on final destination, then you have only learned 50% of the game.

 

[Luigifan18]

Getting back on stage is definitely not a weakness for Ridley. Its all about smartly managing your jumps, and you can use reverse up B to recover horizontally.

Problem is, most characters have trouble turning around in midair without B-reversing, which is... quite hard to pull off.

What? I main Ridley and his most dominant on battlefield. If you can only win on final destination, then you have only learned 50% of the game.

Battlefield and FD together are only... um... what's 2 divided by 103?

 

[T-Donor66]

Problem is, most characters have trouble turning around in midair without B-reversing, which is... quite hard to pull off.


Battlefield and FD together are only... um... what's 2 divided by 103?

You completely misunderstood me. You can’t b reverse a recovery, thats not what i mean’t. I meant you can angle Ridley’s recovery backwards after starting the charge up phase, as it sends him upwards and backwards.

 

[RepStar]

Getting back on stage is definitely not a weakness for Ridley. Its all about smartly managing your jumps, and you can use reverse up B to recover horizontally.

What? I main Ridley and his most dominant on battlefield. If you can only win on final destination, then you have only learned 50% of the game.

You ready to rematch with ridley on a BF stage then? I prefer FD never said i couldnt win. You like to prejudge.

 

[T-Donor66]

You ready to rematch with ridley on a BF stage then? I prefer FD never said i couldnt win. You like to prejudge.

I probably shouldn’t have used the word “you” when I was speaking generally that someone who can’t win on battlefield has ignored a massive part of the game.

As for a rematch, im down whenever you are. I have done nothing but grind out my Ridley since last time and I think he will stand up to ness next time. Mewtwo will be coming out too, so be ready!

 

[Prince Fury- Roaring Lion]

I've been playing alot with Shulk online, how efficient are you guys at using the new mechanics like parry, and attack cancelling? I've been just grinding out but I feel I should goto training and really get these down to a science.