need help with my approach

[crashbfan]

it seems that I only approach with fireballs and grabs. I'd like to switch up my approach. what are the best ways to approach with luigi?

 

[MonkeyArms]

The best way to approach with luigi is...well...not to.
Simply put, wall out the opponent with fireballs and short hop airiels until they make a mistake. Luigi's fireball can block out most projectiles to so its a pretty safe option.
However, if you do come up in the case where you DO have to approach your opponent, read what they are going to do before you get there.
Are they going to sheild? grab. Are they going to spot dodge? Pivot grab, short hop down air, or cyclone. Not sure which they're going to do? Cyclone in case they drop sheild. Are they going to roll torwards you? retreat with a short hop down air or forward air. Are they going to roll away? Run up and grab.
Its also safe to note when in the situation you are right next to the opponent and want a grab in the standing position go for a pivot (or perfect pivot if you do it so fast for some reason, I accidently did it once) grab. This lets you retreat to a safer position with luigi's bad traction while still having the chance to get a grab.

 

[hey_there]

I did a short write up for a new Luigi player in the Luigi gameplay thread that's relevant, so I'll copy and paste it here. This is by no means an exhaustive guide on how to play Luigi, but hopefully it will help you expand your perception of what options are available to you during a match. :

Fireballs are really great, but fireball -> running grab gets very predictable, so here's a few other options:

- Power shielding. Very important to get good with powershielding as Luigi. Because of his bad traction, he can power shield an attack and still make some ground sliding towards an opponent, giving you opportunities to punish.
- SH dair is good. It autocancels and covers a good amount of space.
- SH fair is OK, but it is a bit of a commitment and you can be punished quickly if they shield.
- Cyclone is an OK approach, but easy to punish, so use it sparingly.
- Tomahawking is great for Luigi (Jumping in without attacking and grabbing right away).
- Out of shield nair is good. Everyone knows about Luigi's infamous nair, so keep it in mind as a decent option.
- Jabbing is great. It comes out very quickly and you can link it to a grab or, depending on the circumstances, slip in an fsmash or something else.
- SH bair can stuff aerial approaches, but it's not something to spam imo.
- Reverse usmash is really great. Great damage, sets up for a juggle, and Luigi's head is invincible during the active hitbox.
- Crawling. A lot of times you can just crawl under your opponent's attacks while retreating or approaching, effective dodging their move and giving yourself a frame advantage over shielding, not to mention you won't be pushed back like you do in shield. It takes a while to learn which moves you can duck under though, so don't be afraid to experiment on FG or something.
- Perfect pivoting is cool with Luigi since he gets really good distance with his PP, but it's not essential.
- B-reverse fireballs are great at resetting to neutral from disadvantage if you're being juggled. I actually see a lot of characters (Lucario and Robin most prominently) incorporate b-reversing into their metas, but I don't see Luigis do it much. Definitely underrated and something to keep in mind, as Luigi is quite floaty and easily juggled.

This is by no means definitive and someone else will probably jump in with stuff I missed. Of course, you'll see more opportunities for more options as you play and learn the character. Anyway, I hope my thoughts are helpful to you.

Something very important that I feel must be stressed (mostly directed at For Glory Luigis) is don't rely on grabs to win your matches. You'll come across good opponents that won't get grabbed and you'll be sunk because you won't know what to do with the rest of your moves.

 

[Liwi808]

IMO one of my best approach mix-ups is down B. It's great for approaching from off the ledge or when you're falling, since most people won't expect it. Just don't too it too much. It has great priority, and comes out pretty quickly as well. On battlefield, you can even hit taller characters with it if you're on a platform and they're on the ground. It's a vital part of my playstyle, and I couldn't play Luigi without it really.

 

[TriTails]

I've found that running to shield -> OoS U-smash works well on people approaching with SH aerials. Though, won't work on something like Ganon's F-air because traction. But it's a legit way on approaching since people expect you to dash grab all the time.

Or if you want to fake out, running U-smash can work in substitute of dash grab. Or Cyclone to punish spotdodges. You generally don't want to approach, so make them approach if you can (Ganon and D3 are really easy to Fireball spam to make them come).

Though... how the hell Luigi approach Mega Man I have no clue.

 

[Liwi808]

^Same with Rosa or Villager. Sometimes if they know what they're doing I just can't approach no matter what I do. Then I just end up switching to Fox or Sonic >_>

 

[TriTails]

Correct me if I'm wrong (I better get this 'With Firends' feature in the 'Online' worked more often...), but can't Luigi work his way through Villager with Fireballs (Stop Lloid Rocket) and N-airs (Stop slingshots)?

...I'm a noob at MUs. So don't hurt me.

 

[Liwi808]

Villager can f-air you much faster than you can shorthop fastfall nair. And due to Luigi's poor aerial mobility, he can't cover much distance while doing it either. Pretty much all of Villager's specials (especially his customs) are for zoning/camping, and he has fast neutrals as well. The match up is at least 80:20 imo.

 

[TriTails]

Villager can f-air you much faster than you can shorthop fastfall nair. And due to Luigi's poor aerial mobility, he can't cover much distance while doing it either. Pretty much all of Villager's specials (especially his customs) are for zoning/camping, and he has fast neutrals as well. The match up is at least 80:20 imo.

Villager MU is absolutely nowhere near 8:2. Like, even Mega MU, so far the worst one for Luigi, is at least 7-3.

Slingshots can also be cancelled out with:
- Fireballs (Seriously, Fireballs are awesome in this MU)
- F-airs
- Cyclone

A few members have said that this MU is actually in Luigi's favor. Even False said Luigi does not lose to Villager, and he placed 13th in Apex.

I think that's because Luigi shuts down most of Villager's camping with Fireballs (You don't need to fast-fall when using N-air. Even a weak one stuffs slingshots. You actually want to be in the air with that N-air hanging as long as you can). Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Villagers camping involve...
- Tree
- Lloid Rockets
- Slingshots
- Tilts/Jabs(?) when they come

And only two of them can be used to attack from a distance, and those two get stuffed. So my question is, how does Villager camp if Luigi shuts down his options?

He'll be forced to approach, something that Villager never want to do, and when we get a grab on him, we combo him like mad. And because of his bad grab, he'll have one heck of a time getting us out of his face.

 

[Liwi808]

Stuffing Villager's fairs reliably is harder than it seems. It has faster start up than fireball, and using cyclone to counter it just leaves you open to a punish. I guess you can shorthop fair constantly, but even still Villager has an easy time outmaneuvering Luigi. Maybe it's just the Villagers in my area, but it just seems like an up-hill battle for Luigi to get past fair's long range and quick fire rate. Doesn't help when they use customs, either. Exploding up-B and trip tree just make the match-up even more infuriating. I've literally had matches where a Villager would just spam fair and lloyd the entire match, and then hang onto the ledge to explode his balloons when I would get close. Not only that, but tripping tree means you're forced to jump over it, which just gives villager more opportunities for fair. Is it possible to win? Sure. But it's not worth pulling my hair out over IMO when I can just switch to a faster character.

 

[Ribskhie]

Approaching is one of Luigi's worst aspects, as he's slow in both the air and on the ground and he doesn't have much range on his attacks. So, what I recommend to do is to simply don't approach. Wall the opponent out with your Fireball and fast aerials, and wait for them to make a mistake. That's when you go in with a combo starter on powerful attack. This strategy is especially important against characters that have a lot of projectiles, like Mega Man or Villager, as they are really good at stuffing any of Luigi's approach options. So, just wait for the opponent to make a mistake, and then you go in.

 

[dehvin]

Approaching is one of Luigi's worst aspects, as he's slow in both the air and on the ground and he doesn't have much range on his attacks. So, what I recommend to do is to simply don't approach. Wall the opponent out with your Fireball and fast aerials, and wait for them to make a mistake. That's when you go in with a combo starter on powerful attack. This strategy is especially important against characters that have a lot of projectiles, like Mega Man or Villager, as they are really good at stuffing any of Luigi's approach options. So, just wait for the opponent to make a mistake, and then you go in.

This is how most of my matches go on in the ladder. Neither of us ever approach and I just end up quitting out of boredom.

 

[NE_BOBANDY]

I'd agree with other who say that you should let your opponent approach you most of the time playing as Luigi. His slipperiness and general lack of range makes it a little difficult sometimes, but if you play smart you can still get in there. My bread and butter approaches are:
-Fireballs to dash grab. It's really effective. If they start to catch on, I like to mix up my fireball timing, and do some weird b-reversal mind games to try and get them confused.
-SHFF nair, catches rolls and spot doges and can be follow up easily. Also very easily punished by shield grabbing, so don't do this on shields.
-Dash attack on whiffed dash attacks/dash grabs when you're not close enough to smash attack.
-Empty short hop to jab combo. Catches people off guard a lot.

Luigi's approaches are hard, but very rewarding if you can get in there and land a grab.

 

[Tbagz]

I've been slowly realizing as i play more and more players on my level (or better) at tournaments, that being the aggressor is NOT the best option.

~wall out your opponent using good fireball spacing
~ short hop/ jump A LOT.
~avoid rolling patterns
~ wait for the punish, and make their life living hell if given the chance.
~ dont get greedy (if they **** up, and you see a quick chance for a quick gentleman jab get it, and get out.)


edit: Also, Pivot grabs are a good option too. I personally like to dash away from my opponent (after a series of them power shielding my fireball) and grab them when they start chasing after me.

 

[TriTails]

Luigi mains also need to take note that spaced SH B-airs are safe on shield. Sure, this doesn't mean you should B-air EVERYTHING, but it's a good thing to know.

Oh, and also, SH F-air and D-air rocks.