New To All This

[Boston]

So after watching essentially every Smash tournament for the last year or two, I finally decided to wipe the dust off the old gamecube, and to try and learn to play "well". I played a lot as a kid, but back then, all it took to be good was knowing how to use the c-stick. I've probably got bad habits and all that BS. Anyway, I was wondering if some people here could maybe explain to me what I need to get started playing this amazing game at a higher level. Maybe explaining some of the terminology and basics of what I would need to know to play at a local tournament. Any and all advice is much appreciated. Since I don't know what the general attitude of this site is, and I'm used to Chernobyl-level internet toxicity, inb4 newfag kill urself. Thanks!

 

[Plunder]

Epsilon just made a thread that's still on the front page. It's to address these kinds of "new player" threads, which pop up at least 1-2 times a day it seems.

http://smashboards.com/threads/useful-links-for-new-players.410678/

Not only that but there's been a stickied thread that has TONS of info for new players:

http://smashboards.com/threads/2014-ssbm-compendium-of-knowledge-updated-1-2-14.339520/

Those should help. Best way to learn is just to start going to tourneys locally and play friendlies with people and learn from experience.

 

[derpcat]

Hi there. I'm also a pretty noob player, but I have found some good resources to help me and maybe they'll help you!

Firstly, I'd like to show you a couple of YouTube channels.

Melee it On Me
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYP_TtFkoioVLsV4NWtiVFg

These guys are very good about generally talking and discussing the game and it's community, with some pretty high level players involved on their team.

SSBM Tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46ZTid4t2ctB6osM0WTiJA

While reading through the forum subsections about characters is great, videos can be good too. This channel has a lot about character specific guides and some more miscellaneous stuff like their recent video about your first local tournament.

Next are some videos and video series.

Advanced How To Play (SSBM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n4s5yB7ZkE

This series is great for showing you the advanced techniques that make Melee's combat so awesome. I suspect you can find the rest of the episodes, but to start, there is episode one.

How Fast Is Melee?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXgpGBbh5r8

Lastly, this video may not really help you get any better, but if you really wanna see how greatly advanced this game can be, this video will give you a little bit of an idea as to how far practice can go.

If you need any advice on your character, I suggest browsing the forum for said character. I think just about every Smasher is always learning, so have fun and play some Melee

 

[yttik]

Since I don't know what the general attitude of this site is, and I'm used to Chernobyl-level internet toxicity, inb4 newfag kill urself.

the community here isn't very toxic, more like "newfag get good here's links on how"

 

[FROST :)]

Everyone is nice in the Smash Community. Tips that no one adressed so far:
1~ Check out every character, find the one you like the most.
2~ Stick to 1/2 characters, as more will hurt your development as a player.
3~ The game is hard to pick up as a competitive game, specially if its your first competitive game.
4~ Go to tournaments even if you think you suck, its the most fun and will also get you exposed to the tournament setting
5~ Avoid playing too much against CPU, find local players on your area. There are Facebook groups for almost every city/state, look for tournaments, play new people , make friends.
6~ Watch pro replays from important matches and try to understand how to play your character.
7~ There's no shame in switching mains, if you find a character that you like more, play it.

 

[Xatu]

This
http://smashboards.com/threads/10-000-words-of-power.295524/

This is a very good and informational read, not just with insightful advice for new players, but for experienced ones as well.

 

[-ACE-]

https://youtu.be/rc6ADMuzd9Q

Play Ganon. Punch people and have fun.