OFFICIAL AZ Power Rankings & Social Thread (Updated: 11/27/13)

[Rubyiris]

In terms of hours per day, I probably played much less than most of you guys. I have been playing lightly but consistently since 2001. Holy **** I've spent literally a full decade playing this game. Although I still can't waveshine backwards with Fox, my spacing is my strength. Something I feel many players forget is that spacing isn't just your own character's hitbox — it's your opponent's as well. For smash, you really have to know the hitboxes for every character in order to space well.

Just playing the game, I started in 1999 with ssb64. Got melee pretty close to the first month it was released, too. I've played smash at least once a week since '99.

=================

Xander, you really need to stop blaming a lack of competition for your rate of improvement. Sure, good competition helps. It's not the biggest factor. Take the midwest for example. AZ doesn't have weeklies like Cali or Tristate but we still **** in comparison to everywhere else. You're actually taking your competition available for granted.

So despite all of the evidence that says otherwise, you still believe this? You're going to have to explain yourself, or admit you're wrong about this subject.

=================

Learning to learn is underrated. I wish elementary schools had a focus on teaching children the best way to learn. Observing, absorbing, applying. LEARN TO LEARN FOR YOURSELF. Inspirations help but role models are restricting. Armada never *****ed about dthrow knee or anything really. His brother is alright but Armada trained well with what he was given. He was disappointed with other Peaches and was determined to make something of his own.

So this means that you must think that PP sucks and you gotta blow his methods out of the water

Two players with brothers to practice with. PEOPLE.

=================

Of course you need to control your own character but controlling your opponent is ****

Spoiler

, literally too heh

. Learn to pick up your opponent's habits more. You're too focused on your flubbed inputs.

Oh hey, look. More proof that I need to play people ^_^


=================

Basically the goal of this post was to minimize your johning. Seriously just shut the **** up and play, no whining about circumstances that you present as beyond your control. If you know your weaknesses and can fix it, then fix it. If you can't, then enhance your strengths. Shut the **** up with this whining. It's getting almost as bad as it was last year. Stop fishing for compliments. Get off this topic and have some ****ing fun with this game for Christ's sake.

I'm going to pull a Tony and stop posting for a while, though I'll be lurking the boards still I've been spending too much time here and I'm going to learn some Chopin ballades

Spoiler

and some sick donkey punch set-ups

.

I want to have fun with smash, but you guys make it very difficult.

@Tim: Why do you think I'm one of the few Falcos with really amazing movement? :/ there ARE people that work as hard as Jeff, or harder, and you need yo accept it

 

[Duff0]

oh yeah tai sucked

 

[Corigames]

Tai, do you have any of my pools games recorded where I used the extender? If there was one that is particularly fun to watch or shows a good use of it, I'd like to have it or a link to an upload. Pwease?

 

[Jane]

DONT DO IT JACKIE, DONT POST AGAIN!!!


CHOPINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnn

 

[Tee ay eye]

Tai, do you have any of my pools games recorded where I used the extender? If there was one that is particularly fun to watch or shows a good use of it, I'd like to have it or a link to an upload. Pwease?

i probably do have it, but i'm not about to watch these vids to check

do you remember what character/player it was against?

 

[Rubyiris]

Cori extender ***** the **** out of Jane. It was glorious.

<3 Jane, but damn he got worked.

 

[Corigames]

Aside from Frosty and Kyle, I think I used it against everyone else in my pools. Jane did get it pretty bad/good, depending on how you look at it, but I'm not sure if his was the best example.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

I just want to play for fun and play with people that WANT to and ENJOY playing with me. IF you're one of those people, keep trying to hit me up, I'll make time for you. I may even be able to teach you a thing or two.

Spoiler

no homo

Hey, fellow Link main ... I want to/enjoy playing with you because you are one of the few people who don't insist that I should focus on Falcon/learn Sheik instead of Link (not that I blame people for telling me that) and can actually teach me a thing or two. Finals coming up, so I'm busy as all heck, but I may be free Wednesday afternoon and/or Friday afternoon of this week. PM me if you are interested, and I'll PM you my number.

 

[DualCats]

Cori extender ***** the **** out of Jane. It was glorious.

God, I want to watch that.

 

[darkgirku]

EDIT: @Taj - Like I complained months ago, about "certain things" It seems Tony is seeing more what I saw back then. and the relevance/importance of attending our monthlies, is heading towards a "negative" direction, His reasoning(s) may/may not be the same, but I'm sure the general idea, is in the same direction and has been for a while. Some players just don't have the proper mindset, and it's draining/annoying to have to deal with, time and time again... but it's fine. (I'm not the type to repeat, "I told ya so, to a community, as it's pointless and noone will listen...Hopefully, sooner rather than later, understandings can be met, how soon though, I've no idea. This state has enough pride/ego, as it is..

I don't know anything about any of this, but I'd just like to say that I would personally love if everyone (more of the top level players) would just play the game at the monthlies. No johns. just the game.

We go to these monthlies to learn and have fun and to finally enjoy the competitive melee experience after 4-5 years of being unable to go to tournaments. It's amazing, and I'll try to keep going to more and more tournaments regardless of waves of pride and egotism and I'll keep getting better and keep enjoying every minute of it, but man would it be amazing to get more matches in with some more of you that don't show up by choice because of the community.
Like, I never got to really play you at all, v3ctorman. I'd love to play some good ol melee. I Never really got to play taj or axe or forward etc at all either. Sucks, just because of negative feelings on the community by everyone. I'd be heartbroken if i never get to play any of you in actual pools matches or even friendlies. lol. but whatevs:

Now that that's said, I can't wait til i can compete with the cream of the crop


===

Also, to a previous post about how Eef and I rank ourselves, I don't know yet
We're still getting up there, so we'll figure it out then *nods*
All i know now is that:
Eef is better than me at falco dittos
I'm better than him against sheik
And we both wreck at the yoshi matchup, lol
But yeah, we're still in the process of absorbing multitudes of matchup experience. Sooon.

I think extending the PR to 15 spots would be cool. But i wouldnt mind either way.

Also, I wanna say that the posts in this thread during the last few weeks about determination and all that sort of stuff have motivated me pretty hardcore.
I'm coming for everybody at the next tournament =D
Should be fun

 

[Rubyiris]

I want to play all three of you guys more. You're all chill as ****

 

[AXE 09]

Coty, you should get your life savings ready then, I'm sure Axe, will be kind enough to allow you to not have to pay him though.

Axe has practiced WAY, and I mean WAY more than you can imagine, I practically watched him grow into what he is today, and lemme say, it didn't just come "natural" to him... He had to put ALOT of work into his game... I WOULD WILLINGLY bet, he most likely has more practiced than MOST of this state put together... His "Motivation/Determination alone, is probably greater than that of most players as it is...<--- This trait alone is rare as it is, for someone to keep a mindset like this for this long.

Honestly, in the earlier parts of Axe's career, while I was training him/helping him get better etc, his drive, was straight up "unmatched" He would practice things, that you wouldn't even imagine/think would be useful.. He'd practice simple movement options, that would help affect his gameplay... We'd go into matches, and play matches with no C-stick, matches with no shielding, matches with random intentional pausing, to increase mere reaction "We've practiced many "questionable things" I've never seen any player that can sit in training mode like Axe had and for about 12+ hours a day, sit in training mode, and practice mere wavedashing/wavelanding/L cancels, etc... on every stage, (even the ones that don't matter, because they're non-tourney viable) 12+ hours DAILY of simple training mode, practicing just MOVEMENT? this also wasn't just a one time thing.. he was in this phase, for a good month or so.. To have the mental focus of doing this part ALONE is outright outstanding... We'd spend another day, simple practicing "Powershielding" 10+hours, just on "(running powershield<SH,aerial) later nicknamed "SV" then on top of that the "casual practice of doing "friendlies" per day as well.. Simply put his mental focus, is like none i've EVER seen before..(I won't go into detail of everything he's done) but this is a simple example, of his drive, that I don't think people know, give credit about)

Thank you so much for posting this Tim.

To be honest, I feel so discredited by you guys, cuz it feels like you guys think that I kinda just have this unfair advantage. But in reality, NONE of you guys except for Tim (since he's been there pretty much since the beginning of my career) know or understand all of the extremely hard work and countless hours I've spent getting to the level I'm at now. If you guys could've just been there to see how I've progressed and everything I went through, I think you would understand I'm not lying when I say that you can get to the level I'm at without "natural talent", just hard work and determination. I am definitely not a fast learner, just a persistent one when it comes to the things I REALLY care about a lot (Melee).

Please read Tim's post if you guys want to understand more of what I went through.

I KNOW that if I can get to this level, then all of you guys can too.

 

[Iron Dragon]

Mango has told me on AIM before that getting good at Melee is like a full-time job. Many smashers have failed classes due to getting good at Melee. Yes it's that hard and was that hard even for the best. You may think you put in a lot of time and maybe you do but it's bad to discredit how good Jeff is and say he didn't have to put in as much work.

You basically have to ****ing eat,sleep, and breathe Melee is what I'm saying if you want to get better.

 

[Rubyiris]

Its a two way street, buddy. Don't discredit our work either.

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Its a two way street, buddy. Don't discredit our work either.

I honestly think both sides are right on this issue. Nobody can blame Jeff for not working hard. I think it's obvious how hard Jeff worked. We can argue all day about whether drive and dedication should count as a "natural" talent, but either way it's not an "unfair" advantage.

Spoiler

People called me a "natural" at singing, but I had to go to choir practice and literally practice for hours every day by singing along to operatic CDs every second I spent driving--years later, I'm still not very good. (Granted, singing is very different: I legitimately am genetically predisposed towards singing bass because of the structure of my throat and vocal chords. Someone without those advantages could train for decades and still not achieve the same results that I can achieve in just a few weeks.)

At the same time, although I know Jeff means it as encouragement, I can see how Xander interprets, "Work hard and you can reach my level!" as really meaning, "If you had worked as hard as you say, you would be better." The truth of the situation I feel is that Xander has put in tons of work (I can't form an informed opinion on whether or not he has put in as much work as Jeff, so don't ask), but because he doesn't have partners that help him practice in the most optimal manner, he hasn't improved as much per hour of work--and this, I think, is what he means when he says he doesn't have enough competition. Like I said earlier, practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. In other words, "Work hard and you can reach my level!" is not entirely correct. I think Jeff and Tim need to recognize how much work Xander has put into the game and be more careful how they phrase things, and I think Xander needs to chill out and accept that they are trying to help and encourage him.

EDIT: And yes, I realize that right now I am being an arrogant douchebag and assuming way too many things, but this is just my opinion. Haters gonna hate.

 

[Corigames]

Can we play more melee? I just want to practice with humans right now.

 

[Iron Dragon]

Its a two way street, buddy. Don't discredit our work either.

I don't have to. The emphasis on what I say does it for me. Plain and simple, make Melee your life if you want to be Mango since that always seems to be what you're driving at.

 

[Duff0]

you're in choir ferrish? solid.

im a bass too

 

[bubz]

lol everyone in AZ is such a baby about improving. use your head more. and yeah yeah i know theres going to be people who will dislike my comment blah blah blah. but yeah when i was a freshman i started failing my classes due to melee just to get better, so yeah quit with your pathetic sob stories.................................****ies

 

[Silly Kyle]

If any of you new players need some advice on how to improve, hit me up!! <3

 

[Tee ay eye]

if anyone wants to buy plane tickets for apex, you guys should do so ASAP

southwest airlines is doing a sale on plane tickets from now through december 1st because of cyber monday.

they're like, 40 bucks cheaper (round trip) than when i bought them a few weeks ago :/

if you guys want to fly with me and jeff, we're flying from PHX to EWR

we're leaving jan 5 on flight #3920
and we're coming back on jan 9 on flight #718

 

[Jane]

.................................Pussies

i would so sig this if it wouldnt immediately get removed the moment i displayed it hahaha

 

[Rubyiris]

I don't have to. The emphasis on what I say does it for me. Plain and simple, make Melee your life if you want to be Mango since that always seems to be what you're driving at.

I'm driving to be some sort of Mango/Timmy/Axe hybrid thing. *Shrug.*

The funny thing is that I'm in school SO I can do this. Different strokes for different folks. My melee addiction got me homeless. >_>

 

[Light_]

Indeed

Just making sure there are people around who remember how horrible I was for about a year and a half before getting my **** together.

Yup, horrible enough to get JV5'd by me, haha. Just kidding Tai!

Also that was a good post Vectorman. I hope it was insightful to everyone else.

 

[iFrostyy]

Today Coty got a free double steak burrito at Chipotle. I then asked him.
"Coty, why do you get free things?"
"Because I play sheik, everything is free"

 

[Rubyiris]

I'm sick.

This made me laugh my *** off.

I hate you both.

 

[Corigames]

Rage comic text adventure:
>***** about wanting to play melee with people
>At work, double shift co-managing
>Receive text
>Playing smash, wanna join?
>FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

 

[KAOSTAR]

Thank you so much for posting this Tim.

To be honest, I feel so discredited by you guys, cuz it feels like you guys think that I kinda just have this unfair advantage. But in reality, NONE of you guys except for Tim (since he's been there pretty much since the beginning of my career) know or understand all of the extremely hard work and countless hours I've spent getting to the level I'm at now. If you guys could've just been there to see how I've progressed and everything I went through, I think you would understand I'm not lying when I say that you can get to the level I'm at without "natural talent", just hard work and determination. I am definitely not a fast learner, just a persistent one when it comes to the things I REALLY care about a lot (Melee).

Please read Tim's post if you guys want to understand more of what I went through.

I KNOW that if I can get to this level, then all of you guys can too.

Dont let it get to you. Just keep being who you are.

 

[Rubyiris]

I hate being sick. Laughing hurts.

..this thread makes me laugh a lot.

 

[Tee ay eye]

ill try to make a post summarizing my smash career in the context of improvement

sometime within the week

if i don't post it by monday, remind me

 

[FerrishTheFish]

Having played multiple competitive games and sports, I can tell you that my entire competitive career has been about me consistently getting worse and worse for periods ranging from two months (Melee) to two years (Chess), then essentially waking up to find that I've become much better player overnight. My chess rating history is literally a parabola. 8 months is nothing, Xander.

 

[Jar'd]

Free double steak burrito? I'm interested.

 

[Rubyiris]

I find that I get above average ridiculously quickly, then just kind of... stay there for the rest of my career. This has happened to me in the following games:

Pokemon TCG
Pokemon VG
Magination
Bleach TCG
MTG
Melee
Brawl (back when I cared.)
GunZ
ITG/DDR/SMO/DJ Max/O2Jam

Yugioh's been the only game where I've became extremely good at, and I just never had the funds to travel/etc, so I was always playing sub-par decks. I absolutely wrecked online, though. DGZ will deny it, despite me regularly ****** people they considered "good." *Shrug.*

 

[bubz]

im good at everything and have never stopped improving at everything i do, even when i dont do it anymore cause im that amazing and that NATURALLY talented.

 

[Rubyiris]

I am going to choke you next time I see you.

 

[KAOSTAR]

with the right deck you don't need skill. I got mad skill and a cookie cutter *** deck. my basic strategy is attack directly by using traps and spells to remove their mobsters from the field. my cards aren't very strong in terms of attack.

 

[Jane]

aw shit nigga, you just activated my trap card.

i'm bout to get all up in that ass

 

[LoveHDC]

Dear fellow smashers,

I recently moved into the area and am looking to continue playing melee competitively. If anyone could drop me some info on some local (Tucson) smash fests it would be greatly appreciated. I have already looked into attending the next tournament. I look forward to playing with new faces and hopefully making new friends in the process.

Regards,
Love

 

[Silly Kyle]

Hey there, Love!

We should totes smash sometime super soon! I've been dying to play Melee lately... just got finished practicing by myself for my Peach tech skill lolz.

Out of curiosity... do you smoke ganja??

 

[Corigames]

I loled

also:

ill try to make a post summarizing my smash career in the context of improvement

sometime within the week

if i don't post it by monday, remind me

Eagerness