New to Falco

[Yomi]

Hey. I'm used to playing Fox, but I want to switch to Falco because I think my play style suits him better. I want to put in a little practice so that my Falco moves a little smoother before I start playing with him a lot more in matches. Does anyone have some combos I can practice on the computer that will help me get the timing of the character down. I understand combos that work on a computer don't always work on a person, but I just need some practice. I also don't like just fighting computers or messing around on computers, because that develops terrible habits. I like to play the computer with specific combos as goals. Any advice? (My technical skill is good, but not godly, so give me some "basic" stuff.) Thanks.

 

[clowsui]

practice updowns (shine -> dair rinse repeat)
practice shine to bair (quick ones too...i need to do this at some point)
practice using the shine to combo, i guess?
(very important, not a combo but) practice lowering the shl! (best to practice when you're getting the hang of falco to make it a permanent habit)

There's no real way to practice possible combos because Smash's uniqueness comes from the fact that great combos are best formed while playing. there's some set pattern sometimes (e.g. fox - waveshine -> jcusmash), but they're not always used. Just practice against humans with your Falco XD; you'll get a general feel for him at some point.

 

[TheKneeOfJustice]

Things to practice:

1. SHL and other approaches. I don't know how good you are, but these concepts should be similar to ones you employed as a fox player. The SHL is useful for approaching, camping, and in some cases edge guarding.

2. Your new recovery. Falco's recovery is significantly shorter than foxes, so make sure to learn his sweet spots very early.

3. SHffl motions, and wavedashes, which will be more useful when you begin to waveshine.

4. Shine -> Dair combos, shine follow-ups, Bair/F-smash finisher set-ups. These are the heart and soul of your falco.

5. Pillar and other forms of pressure. Falco has the best pressure game bar none. When someone shields, they should immediately regret it.

6. Waveshine. These will helps your combos, instant edge hog, pressure, and over all movement.

7. JC Shines. Learn these later. When you have a better understanding of the game and its more in depth concepts, employ these when you can. Their best use I believe is to punish crouch canceling.

 

[Yomi]

Ok. Clearly I didn't explain my skill or what I wanted very well. My tech skills with Falco are decent just due to translation from Fox, I can do SHL, RSHL, waveshining, shine to aerial, JC shines, SHFFLing and most of that good stuff. What I'm looking for are combos that will force me to do these things quickly and in succession. Here is an example I was practicing a little bit last night. Marth has 0%, I shine him, DJ Dair, to U-tilt, SH Dair, Shine to a Bair. While this exact combo won't always work on a human it's possible to pull off and surely similar to combos I would use in a real match. Does anybody have other ones like this?

 

[xyouxarexuglyx2]

Shine -> nair? This is also effective.

I've seen pros do it in videos as well.

 

[technomancer]

Best things to practice are platform based shine combos with DI and with a partner. Battlefield and Dreamland are good stages.

Nair->Laser->Fsmash is good to practice on heavyweights. Also practice wavelanding onto a platform above you.

Otherwise just mix it up.

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

5. Pillar and other forms of pressure. Falco has the best pressure game bar none. When someone shields, they should immediately regret it.

i disagree with this. falco's shield pressure game is not really the best in the game. he can even be grabbed out of his pillaring if you know the timing. fox's pillar on the shield is better because it has more hitstun (dair) so you can do a rising dair from the shine and not get grabbed (or at least as easily). not to mention other characters have just as good if not better ways to pressure a shield; peach has her pillar, marth can space you to death, sheik can space you and all of her aerials end and let her jab b4 you can grab her, and it goes on and on. some of the more agile characters even do better than falco if you just camp behind their sheild and jab a few times, they will eventually roll, and falco doesnt have the speed to keep up with that while characters like sheik fox falcon and marth can. not to mention falco's grab game isnt that good, no combos from it at all.

 

[TheKneeOfJustice]

Falco's pressure game expands beyond just simple pillaring. And even if his grab game isn't great, getting a grab off is better than not getting a grab off.