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Neutral Game?
- Thread starter Mk28
- Start date
ATH_
Smash Ace
RushHourSmash (Youtube) made a really good basic tutorial on the neutral, however, I'll break down some things.
During the neutral both players start at a close to equal standpoint in their advantages and disadvantages, they can do whatever they want, and have all options available to them. The goal is to gain advantages during the neutral, whether it's damage, positioning, setups, etc, and convert your advantages into an edge guard or further mind game.
Mind games are extremely important, so keep in mind your habits and their habits. Try to act on their own without developing a new habit, this can be tricky.
When in the Neutral, you want to reduce the amount of options your opponent has. Think of it like 2 big lists with all of the different things both characters can do. Depending on your position (spacing too), percent, skill, and mindgame, you can use these options. A total neutral example would be that of a ditto on a 'perfectly' balanced stage such as Battlefield. Something I see a lot of players do wrong in the Neutral is only focus on their skill, that is, their ability to actually make the right inputs. This is important, but you need to be able to consistently do all of the other things in order to perform well in Smash.
The main mindgame during the neutral is the functionality of your options. Your offensive options (such as a FSmash) will be beaten by someone's Defensive option (Such as a projectile or a shield grab). Your Defensive option will be beaten by a technical option (Projectiles by absorbs/reflects, Shields by Grabs). And your Technical options will be beaten by your Offensive Options (FSmash beats Grab). This is added on with movement options that allow you to not commit to one option, and is even further added onto by moves that perform more than one kind of an Option (Such as Lucina's Shieldbreaker, successfully acting as both an Offensive and Technical option, however being defeated by projectiles and dodging (Both defensive options). You want to watch closely here and see what your opponent favors in situations, then condition them into that situation and use your counter. This is a skill that will take the longest to develop in my opinion, as some players who are at the top level still struggle with this.
Anyway, sorry for the long paragraph, just thought this would help. ^^
During the neutral both players start at a close to equal standpoint in their advantages and disadvantages, they can do whatever they want, and have all options available to them. The goal is to gain advantages during the neutral, whether it's damage, positioning, setups, etc, and convert your advantages into an edge guard or further mind game.
Mind games are extremely important, so keep in mind your habits and their habits. Try to act on their own without developing a new habit, this can be tricky.
When in the Neutral, you want to reduce the amount of options your opponent has. Think of it like 2 big lists with all of the different things both characters can do. Depending on your position (spacing too), percent, skill, and mindgame, you can use these options. A total neutral example would be that of a ditto on a 'perfectly' balanced stage such as Battlefield. Something I see a lot of players do wrong in the Neutral is only focus on their skill, that is, their ability to actually make the right inputs. This is important, but you need to be able to consistently do all of the other things in order to perform well in Smash.
The main mindgame during the neutral is the functionality of your options. Your offensive options (such as a FSmash) will be beaten by someone's Defensive option (Such as a projectile or a shield grab). Your Defensive option will be beaten by a technical option (Projectiles by absorbs/reflects, Shields by Grabs). And your Technical options will be beaten by your Offensive Options (FSmash beats Grab). This is added on with movement options that allow you to not commit to one option, and is even further added onto by moves that perform more than one kind of an Option (Such as Lucina's Shieldbreaker, successfully acting as both an Offensive and Technical option, however being defeated by projectiles and dodging (Both defensive options). You want to watch closely here and see what your opponent favors in situations, then condition them into that situation and use your counter. This is a skill that will take the longest to develop in my opinion, as some players who are at the top level still struggle with this.
Anyway, sorry for the long paragraph, just thought this would help. ^^
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