Need help with the following...

[Dorado]

Hi, I've been training with Zamus for a little while now (since the end of May)
and I'm still coming across some difficulties with how I should handle facing certain characters.

First, her armor:
Is there any opponent you recommend that I do not throw the armor pieces to, and discard them? I know that might sound HORRIBLE, but I usually do that with the dreaded Fox, Falco, Wolf trio.

Which brings me to them. Falco is a beast. If I want to go competitive (cough) I need to learn how to at least handle a computer better by fully kicking it's ***. FALCO'S GRABS ARE INSANE.

My main concerns are:
Fox
Falco
Wolf
Pikachu
Diddy Kong
Ice Climbers (lols)


The others can be handled fairly well.
Thanks, and also does anyone have a vid of Zamus demonstrating techniques when fighting them?

 

[FadedImage]

inb4 "DSMASH LOLOLOL"

anyways, I'll help with what I can.

Fox - I have a tough time with Fox, even though you can D-Smash chain him to holy hell. His mobility is pretty on par with ZSS, which makes connecting with a D-Smash fairly difficult. Not to mention his primary KO move, U-Smash, targets your weakness, your light weight.

As for what you -should- be doing, focus on not getting hit by the U-Smash, that will help you severely. The best way to overcome a Fox is really to understand his movements, since he moves very unique compared to most (fastest faller, weird rising fair, shine delays, etc.). If you can properly predict his location and his attacks, it shouldn't be too hard to punish with ZSS's mobility and aerials. Also, if you can gimp him, that helps a lot. I'm not sure what's best for interrupting the Fox Illusion, but being able to predict when they are going for the edge (and running in for the edgehog) is a big help in getting KOs.


Falco - A royal pain in the ***. Although his mobility is much much worse than Fox, the D-Smash chain doesn't work nearly as well, which means no free kills. His chaingrab can be a pain when you're a low percent, but thankfully you don't really have to worry about low % spike kills (because when you cancel a spike with up-b you should immediately latch onto the edge).

However, approaching Falco is f%$@ing ridiculous. His DSHL are fairly constant, meaning you can't just powershield and dash in, because you'll be stuck in your shield the entire time he's calculating his approach. This means you should generally stick to the air. Just be careful of Falco's very fast jump, he can get up to you and bair you pretty fast, so be ready for it. Falco's uair isn't very scary, unless you're at really high percent, so being above him isn't that much of a weakness.

If you can get around the lasers and survive the chaingrab spikes, Falco doesn't have a lot going for him. His best KO move (F-Smash) is extremely telegraphed. U-Smash is pretty easy to predict, even with boostsmashing. And D-Smash isn't all that great, even though it's pretty fast.

As for getting KOs, same thing as with Fox, try to predict the illusions and hog. He really can't do anything other than illusion, since his firebird is god awful. If he does firebird, go for the tetherhog, you've got the time.

Wolf - I don't really know why people have so much trouble with Wolf, some saying he's a ZSS counter? His aerial game is meh at best since his best aerial (b-air) is quite obvious (lol he's facing away). He can be D-Smash chained up to 90%, and his mobility is terrible compared to Fox, so you should be able to do it pretty consistently (at least once a match).

Just focus on punishing his smashes, and avoiding his D-Smash when you are at high percents. His Up-B is easily tetherhogged, and his side-b is very punishable, just get used to the approximate distance.

Pikachu - Can't really help, haven't played one yet. ):

Diddy Kong - Same story as Pikachu. ):

Ice Climbers - Same story as Diddy Kong. ): (ban FD and counterpick Brinstar? d

 

[DeliciousCake]

inb4 "DSMASH LOLOLOL"

It works, big deal. Chaining d-smash on spacies is the easiest way to beat them.

Falco - A royal pain in the ***. Although his mobility is much much worse than Fox, the D-Smash chain doesn't work nearly as well, which means no free kills. His chaingrab can be a pain when you're a low percent, but thankfully you don't really have to worry about low % spike kills (because when you cancel a spike with up-b you should immediately latch onto the edge).

I've never been successfully chain-grabbed by Falco; ZSS can DI out of it.

Pikachu - Probably one of ZSS' hardest matchups. His aerials are almost on par and his ranged game is much better than ZSS'. Approaching is difficult, so you'll have to stick with spaced Plasma Whip's and Paralyzer shots. Like usual, you'll need to focus on punishing moves, which is difficult if you opponent has been working on Quick Attack cancelling.

Diddy Kong - Peanut Popgun is pretty useless, as power-shielding it is fairly easy. It's not a very difficult matchup, just watch out for banana combo's. The only problem is attacking him with aerials off the edge if he's recovering with his jetpack.

Ice Climbers - Another horrible matchup. I haven't fought any serious IC's so I can't shed any light on this.

 

[ph00tbag]

Pikachu - Probably one of ZSS' hardest matchups. His aerials are almost on par and his ranged game is much better than ZSS'. Approaching is difficult, so you'll have to stick with spaced Plasma Whip's and Paralyzer shots. Like usual, you'll need to focus on punishing moves, which is difficult if you opponent has been working on Quick Attack cancelling.

Full Jump Thundershock is also terrifying since you can't really do much about the projectile, and if you try, then Pikachu has zero landing lag afterward. My most solid piece of advice is DI the crap out of Usmash and Dsmash, then airdodge Thunder like it's your mother's birthday. Oh man, scary stuff.

 

[Kyriel]

The characters you listed are all short. Double BAIR, or BAIR to UAIR in a short hop.

---

I -bleep- HATE Diddy Kong. This is one of her worst matchups in my opinion. There's not much advice to give besides steal his bananas and THROW THEM THE HELL AWAY. If you let a Diddy use his Bananas, that gives him amazing approaches and disables your ground movement. This wouldn't be a problem if all of Diddy's aerials weren't faster than ZSS's--the only thing comparable in speed is her UAIR, but that's not going to save you from a SH FAIR/BAIR/NAIR/UAIR which basically comes out on frame one.

I hate Diddy. He ruined my life.

---

//edit: I wouldn't throw the armor pieces away--they give ZSS a pretty nice advantage considering her glide toss distance and how they can be use as lingering hitboxes. Against people who can reflect them (Pit can as well), you can just not throw them and use something else lol--One of her strongest moves, her DownB kick, can be used while holding an item. Not to mention you can DownB edgestall while holding one of them and use it as a quick offense should they try to attack.

In short, amor pieces are amazing, but if you don't know how to use them, then don't let them take away from your game.

 

[Johnthegalactic]

Wario can eat your armor, I think Kirby and Dedede can also do that too.

 

[FadedImage]

Full Jump Thundershock is also terrifying since you can't really do much about the projectile, and if you try, then Pikachu has zero landing lag afterward.

Can't you just U-Air it and the approaching pikachu?

 

[Conclusively]

For the space animals, all you have to do is land 1 Down Smash and you basically win that stock. Chain D-Smashes to high percents, and follow it with a backair. Getting the D-Smash can be hard, so try to mindgame into it. Pikachu has good mobility, and a great projectile to boot, but just space yourself and powershield thunderjolts. For Diddy, when he throws out a banana, go for it. Grab it and throw it back at him. When he trips, you can D-Smash, and at higher percents you can follow up with a B-Air to kill him. Ice Climbers.. just don't get grabbed. Space yourself appropriately and aim for the main climber.

About the armor pieces, keep them. You can glide toss them and throw them offstage. Fox is the only one that might use Reflector off stage. They have a huge startup time on their Up-B and a small startup lag on their Side-B, so try to hit them out of it using the armor to gimp their recoveries.

 

[jibbyjaont]

wat do u do against a skilled MK?

 

[ph00tbag]

Can't you just U-Air it and the approaching pikachu?

Yes, if the Pikachu player is an idiot.

Trust me, I play the best Pikachu in NC on a regular basis. The Thundershock is a surprisingly useful projectile, and the fact that your only defense against it forces you to go aerial or retreat is not reassuring.

You can try to get under him, but he has a lot of aerial priority with fair.

 

[Bouse]

Falco
If he uses his reflector, punish the lag. That's the only thing he has to beat out your side+b.
Diddy Kong
Grab and glide toss (roll+throw, not rolling then throwing. It's at the beginning of Claw's video.) his bananas. On a forward toss you can trip him into your double dsmash. That=GG. Your Glide toss is better than his. Other than that just watch out for his hump and his lagless dash.
Ice Climbers (lols)
It's a bad matchup for Zamus. If you have the option of CPing a character against them do it. They build up damage quickly, and most grabs are useless. If you can get very SPACED grabs in, they help. Do your best to separate them, and then punish the CPU. They're powerful, but light.