Newbie

[spoonyd]

Hey all. I'm kinda new to all this tech on this site. A lot of what I've tried seems near impossible to do on any regular basis. Am I the only one that had this kinda trouble? Just L-canceling everytime seems extremely hard, let alone putting it in conjunction with something else. Got some suggestions for me about how to learn this? Is it even worth it because I'm already so far behind? Any words would be very helpful.

 

[Juce]

It's completely worth it. Even within a month, if you practice. you'll look back and laugh that you were having trouble commiting to L-canceling. It's hard to remember to do and still think about how you're playing, but after a few matches of trying to do it consistently you'll notice that it becomes just an automatic thing.

 

[spoonyd]

Should I practice more like in training mode on 2/3 speed? Is that something that's recommended? I assume L-canceling is the first thing to learn and the most important.

 

[Juce]

I wouldn't practice in slower speeds unless it's just to see the difference in lag. It might be harder to adjust to at first, but making sure you do it in normal speed will pay off most in the end, rather than learning it in a slow speed and then relearning it in normal speed.

One thing to watch out for is that there's a difference on when you need to L-cancel when you hit someone and when you don't hit anything because if you hit someone the attack has hitfreeze and so the L-cancel will actually have to be later.

But yeah, seeing what everything looks like (especially the hitting someone v not hitting someone difference) is fine to do in slow speeds and I'd recomment doing that a little. But actually trying to master it in 2/3 or whatever won't benefit you in the long run.

 

[cowboyardee]

Mess around in training mode at slow speed for like 5 minutes just to see what you're trying to do (noticing the difference between a non-lcancelled aerial and an lc aerial, for example). Then practice in normal speed.

L-cancelling is the most important thing to learn, but there's no rule you have to learn one thing before beginning to practice another.

Personally, i find short practice sessions (20-30 minutes) help you develop your tech skill and muscle memory at least as well as (and much more efficiently than) longer marathon practice sessions.

Also, all that stuff always seems impossible to do consistently at first, and then one day you find yourself doing it correctly as often as not.

 

[Russian]

practice against lvl 1 comps rather than lvl 9's, they are no substitute for human players, yea, just use the site for help and youll look back and laugh at your self XD

 

[spoonyd]

I'm already seeing a difference in the lag. It'll just be hard to impliment in a game while playing at the same time. Should I just work on that for a good while before moving on to something else? Seriously this is like learning a whole new game that isn't the SSBM that I thought I learned the first time. lol

 

[spoonyd]

Something else....I'm starting with Fox since it does seem like once you learn him that everything else seems a lot easier cause of how fast he is. Is this true or am I better off learning someone slower to get the hang of things?

 

[Radicalation]

I'd recommend learning to wavedash before l-canceling. The trickier maneuvering of a wavedash will help get your fingers accustomed to quick reactions and make l-canceling a breeze.

 

[Pye]

I personally learned wavedashing first, before any other technique, followed by shffling (I never messed with each individual part, I just learned shffling all at once). I mained Samus at first though, so wavedashing was really important (I switched to Fox when learning shffling, because it's almost useless for Samus).

There's no reason to learn with someone slower, really. If you look closely, you can see the difference between an l-cancel and a missed l-cancel on normal speed, even with almost-lagless aerials (Marth's/Shiek's fair).

Also, using this stuff in combat is very intimidating to think about at first, because of how absurdly complex it seems. I have some questions for you though: Do you play any musical instruments? How fast can you type on a computer? Do you play DDR?

If you play a musical instrument, you know that it's all muscle memory. Playing quickly isn't hard, because you're body does it reflexively, without you really having to think about it. Same with DDR. Seeing tons of arrows falling looks harder then it is, since you're doing everything on instinct anyway. Typing is also identical in idea. Of the 50-odd keys you need to use on a keyboard, you just know where they all are reflexively. You don't think "aww, ****, where'd that P key go again?"

Same with smash. Eventually (by this, I mean maybe 2 months. Yes, it dosn't take that long for most people. It takes even less time for some), you won't have to think "omg that guy's gonna dash attack, quick, jump and airdodge diagonally!". You'll instead not think at all: You'll see the guy about to dash attack, and you'll just wavedash back and kick him in the nuts with an fsmash (substitute "nuts" for "face" if not a human male character. Substitute "face" for "body" if Jiggs or Kirby). It'll be as instinctive as breathing.

EDIT: Upon re-reading this, I realised it's all over the place and completely fails at coherence. I apologize for any unnessisary thinking you may have to do to understand wtf I'm talking about.

 

[Radicalation]

I personally learned wavedashing first, before any other technique, followed by shffling (I never messed with each individual part, I just learned shffling all at once). I mained Samus at first though, so wavedashing was really important (I switched to Fox when learning shffling, because it's almost useless for Samus).

I main Samus as well, and I have to disagree with you a bit. I can edge guard effectively with a shffled Dair. It took a long time for me to completely master it but once I had it, shffling became a big part of my game. So I wouldn't say it's "almost useless" =P

 

[tarheeljks]

Hey all. I'm kinda new to all this tech on this site. A lot of what I've tried seems near impossible to do on any regular basis. Am I the only one that had this kinda trouble? Just L-canceling everytime seems extremely hard, let alone putting it in conjunction with something else. Got some suggestions for me about how to learn this? Is it even worth it because I'm already so far behind? Any words would be very helpful.

everyone has different learning curves, so don't be discouraged if you aren't getting it. the only way to do it is to practice. eventually it will become instinctive and you will wonder how you ever got by w/o it. the only thing is that shffling against a live opponent is much different than against the cpu (b/c you get shieldgrabbed if you miss), so don't worry if you have trouble against live competition. just be persistent.

 

[red stone]

no wavedashing, l-canceling, teching, dash dancing, and all that other jazz is dirt easy, takes no practice, and you should be able to do them cosistently on the first try. if you can't, you are lost cause and should just quit video games altogether

 

[KalimariDark]

no wavedashing, l-canceling, teching, dash dancing, and all that other jazz is dirt easy, takes no practice, and you should be able to do them cosistently on the first try. if you can't, you are lost cause and should just quit video games altogether

^ True - for dash dancing. [Seriously, it's a fine technique, but it's not exactly hard or anything.. ] Everything else is far more difficult to master.

 

[DemonicShadows]

Basically what everyone else had said.

@red stone: It is hard on your first try, especially if you're new to the game because some characters have bigger jump delays than others (for example, comparing Ganon to Fox). L-cancelling is also difficult because some characters' aerials don't hit the ground, and it all depends on timing (since you have to press L R or Z 7 frames (7/60 of a second) before landing. It IS difficult.

 

[spoonyd]

Basically what everyone else had said.

@red stone: It is hard on your first try, especially if you're new to the game because some characters have bigger jump delays than others (for example, comparing Ganon to Fox). L-cancelling is also difficult because some characters' aerials don't hit the ground, and it all depends on timing (since you have to press L R or Z 7 frames (7/60 of a second) before landing. It IS difficult.

Well L-Canceling is coming along and getting more automatic but I can only L-Cancel when I jump higher to give me time. I can't short hop consistently at all. Is there an easier finger or thumb method to doing it? Are people holding the controller in some weird way that I'm not aware of?

 

[KevinM]

Nope its whatever feels comfortable, with fox you can only press the button down for 2 frames or 1/30 of a second, so its going to take a while to get your fingers that fast... as soon as you get it though it becomes second nature... for some reason i start finding it harder to remember too full jump

 

[spoonyd]

Nope its whatever feels comfortable, with fox you can only press the button down for 2 frames or 1/30 of a second, so its going to take a while to get your fingers that fast... as soon as you get it though it becomes second nature... for some reason i start finding it harder to remember too full jump

As far as the short hop goes, I'm kinda like flicking the X button with the tip of my thumb instead of pressing it at all and it seems to work. Kinda makes a loud snapping sound but it works. lol