8bit.Trotz
Smash Cadet
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2007
- Messages
- 33
Warning Received
Hey guys.
First off I wanna say, that if you're reading this thread, on this board, I respect the hell out of you.
I admire my fellow Link players because unlike the gimmicky or upper tier characters, we need to be so damn precise and workmanlike to earn our kills and our wins. So props to you all.
That being said, I truly believe that in time, as the metagame continues to progress, the general consensus on link will be: "improved", but not viable. As a link vet, to hear some people argue with conviction that he's top 10, or that anyone who brings up his faults just needs to zone better/ be smarter with projectiles / infuriates the hell out of me, as I truly wonder if they've encountered enough high level players that know how to easily exploit his glaring weaknesses.
He is indeed improved, and definitely the strongest he's been - the issue is that he's not the only fighter to have done so and unfortunately his scale relative to the competition simply hasn't kept up.
I've ranted on before about one of his main weaknesses, in lack of reliable kill moves. In short I truly believe that he has a single one. His d smash. Ftilt can also punish at high percentages, but as a go to kill move, the DSmash holds too many advantages over his other options. Usmash needs to be very precise to punish the forward roll, but is extremely risky because of it's frames. Forward smash has both long starting frames and whiffs on the killing blow more than half the time especially if your opponent is light (which most of his terrible matchup to begin with are) - not reliable at all. Spin attack, absolutely useless with pathetic knock back and risk reward. Dair wouldn't be able to skewer a goldeen this time around, and his dash attack is probably the most disappointing move in his entire arsenal - if you manage to kill with the dash attack, congrats. Your opponent mistimed his shield/air dodge. It won't happen again.
Now the inability to effectively kill wouldn't be so bad if Link, like countless other characters actually had the ability to finish off the job once his opponent is knocked off stage. This.... THIS is what I've realized it all boils down to. The very fact that after racking up damage, and finally knocking that (advanced) opponent off, there's nothing you can do against way too many members of the cast. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about the average player here who'll predictably set up a perfect opportunity for a dair spike or fair... Like his struggles on the ground, there's no viable option to fight off stage - the risk/reward simply isn't in his favour. far, FAR from it. This results in opponents making it back much too easily, then rinse and repeat.
We've all been there. Facing decent players at 150% that you just know will take perfect planning to finally KO without a chance of a comeback. There's no easy kills with link.. It's a constant battle of attrition.
Finally to top it all off, after having worked tirelessly to get your kill, guess what.
You get knocked off stage at 70 percent because you misstimed your smash... You're facing, rob, Mario, falcon, lucina, pit, diddy, luigi, Yoshi, shulk, etc etc....you're momentum is stopped. You're a goner.
Much has been said about Link's improved recovery - and I agree that it is much improved. Unfortunately spraying a turd with febreeze won't make it smell much better. It'll still ****ing stink.
Now , I'm not talking about his survivability after being knocked off, because I really do think the momentum that he gains after D.I.ing is incredibly solid. That's not the issue. The issue is predictability. PREDICTABILITY. If you're fortunate enough to have been knocked out high, great he has options. But the minute the clawshot isn't an option, is the minute he's done against a good opponent, who'll be waiting there to punish you on the last frames of your spin, or before it starts, or simply by priority (which several characters have). You can't be crafty with Link, and any player worth his salt knows this. The off stage options of far too many characters is extremely scary for any fighter with a predictable comeback, and link is among the most punishable in the game.
I think these 3 main factors sum up the problem with my good ol ' main.
He can't finish the Job well on 2 fronts and can be easily finished off at moderate percentages by a load of bad matchups or players that simply know how he functions. The odds when fighting opponents of equal/greater skill are simply stacked against him.
But hey, I LOVE his air game. Shame the ever amazing nairs, bairs, and zairs, are useless without the ability to wrap things up.
Sorry for the rant,
I hope I'll get some honest agreements instead of what link players are used to hearing...
ZONE BETTER. KEEP MOVING WITH YOUR PROJECTILES. SWITCH IT UP.
Been there, done that, still do
Edit: yes, I have seen great links in guys like Kirin, or brimeZ... Inspiring stuff, but still not good enough.
First off I wanna say, that if you're reading this thread, on this board, I respect the hell out of you.
I admire my fellow Link players because unlike the gimmicky or upper tier characters, we need to be so damn precise and workmanlike to earn our kills and our wins. So props to you all.
That being said, I truly believe that in time, as the metagame continues to progress, the general consensus on link will be: "improved", but not viable. As a link vet, to hear some people argue with conviction that he's top 10, or that anyone who brings up his faults just needs to zone better/ be smarter with projectiles / infuriates the hell out of me, as I truly wonder if they've encountered enough high level players that know how to easily exploit his glaring weaknesses.
He is indeed improved, and definitely the strongest he's been - the issue is that he's not the only fighter to have done so and unfortunately his scale relative to the competition simply hasn't kept up.
I've ranted on before about one of his main weaknesses, in lack of reliable kill moves. In short I truly believe that he has a single one. His d smash. Ftilt can also punish at high percentages, but as a go to kill move, the DSmash holds too many advantages over his other options. Usmash needs to be very precise to punish the forward roll, but is extremely risky because of it's frames. Forward smash has both long starting frames and whiffs on the killing blow more than half the time especially if your opponent is light (which most of his terrible matchup to begin with are) - not reliable at all. Spin attack, absolutely useless with pathetic knock back and risk reward. Dair wouldn't be able to skewer a goldeen this time around, and his dash attack is probably the most disappointing move in his entire arsenal - if you manage to kill with the dash attack, congrats. Your opponent mistimed his shield/air dodge. It won't happen again.
Now the inability to effectively kill wouldn't be so bad if Link, like countless other characters actually had the ability to finish off the job once his opponent is knocked off stage. This.... THIS is what I've realized it all boils down to. The very fact that after racking up damage, and finally knocking that (advanced) opponent off, there's nothing you can do against way too many members of the cast. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about the average player here who'll predictably set up a perfect opportunity for a dair spike or fair... Like his struggles on the ground, there's no viable option to fight off stage - the risk/reward simply isn't in his favour. far, FAR from it. This results in opponents making it back much too easily, then rinse and repeat.
We've all been there. Facing decent players at 150% that you just know will take perfect planning to finally KO without a chance of a comeback. There's no easy kills with link.. It's a constant battle of attrition.
Finally to top it all off, after having worked tirelessly to get your kill, guess what.
You get knocked off stage at 70 percent because you misstimed your smash... You're facing, rob, Mario, falcon, lucina, pit, diddy, luigi, Yoshi, shulk, etc etc....you're momentum is stopped. You're a goner.
Much has been said about Link's improved recovery - and I agree that it is much improved. Unfortunately spraying a turd with febreeze won't make it smell much better. It'll still ****ing stink.
Now , I'm not talking about his survivability after being knocked off, because I really do think the momentum that he gains after D.I.ing is incredibly solid. That's not the issue. The issue is predictability. PREDICTABILITY. If you're fortunate enough to have been knocked out high, great he has options. But the minute the clawshot isn't an option, is the minute he's done against a good opponent, who'll be waiting there to punish you on the last frames of your spin, or before it starts, or simply by priority (which several characters have). You can't be crafty with Link, and any player worth his salt knows this. The off stage options of far too many characters is extremely scary for any fighter with a predictable comeback, and link is among the most punishable in the game.
I think these 3 main factors sum up the problem with my good ol ' main.
He can't finish the Job well on 2 fronts and can be easily finished off at moderate percentages by a load of bad matchups or players that simply know how he functions. The odds when fighting opponents of equal/greater skill are simply stacked against him.
But hey, I LOVE his air game. Shame the ever amazing nairs, bairs, and zairs, are useless without the ability to wrap things up.
Sorry for the rant,
I hope I'll get some honest agreements instead of what link players are used to hearing...
ZONE BETTER. KEEP MOVING WITH YOUR PROJECTILES. SWITCH IT UP.
Been there, done that, still do
Edit: yes, I have seen great links in guys like Kirin, or brimeZ... Inspiring stuff, but still not good enough.
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