Opinions on Ike's F-air?

[Pegasus Knight]

I've noticed lately that a lot of people talk about using Ike's f-air. My experience with the game is sadly limited to online only; nobody local to play with. So I have to ask, and this is a genuine effort to get new knowledge: Why is Ike's f-air so good? Is it the arc/coverage and range? Some other aspect I'm missing? Can you suggest some ways to use it?

 

[Whiteface]

I dont mean to be mean but WTF, have you ever used the move. Now ike's neutral air is great because there's virtually no lag upon landing, hhowever his f-air is used in applying pressure, spacing and edgeguarding. Try attacking with the edge of the blade and not go in deep and you'll see what i'm talking about.

 

[VersatileBJN]

probably his 2nd best move overall

 

[Pegasus Knight]

I dont mean to be mean but WTF, have you ever used the move.

This... was unnecessary. I have used it, but only on Wi-Fi, where you have to do the move extremely early, with 'psychic timing' to put it to much use due to its start-up lag. See above; my opportunity to play is limited.

Now ike's neutral air is great because there's virtually no lag upon landing, hhowever his f-air is used in applying pressure, spacing and edgeguarding. Try attacking with the edge of the blade and not go in deep and you'll see what i'm talking about.

Thank you. This was much more useful. I'll start trying these applications of it and see what happens.

 

[Whiteface]

You're such a nice person, so polite.... I like you......

Now you made me feel bad about being mean....... I'm sorry.............Let's just bring it in for a group hug

I hope it helps.

 

[.kR0]

His fair is amazing in almost every way.

The move comes out fast and doesn't have too much of a lag. Combined with the huge hit radius and range, it makes fair amazing as a spacing tool. It's almost unpunishable as long as you hit them near the tip area. It's also good sometimes to do a fair on top of the opponent to hit him with the last part of the fair instead of using bair all the time.

Mixing up approaches with fairs/nairs and retreating fairs make Ike's spacing game incredibly good.

 

[Davinci]

I like the Fair a lot, but I'll have to try the Nair some more - it always seemed so slow to me. Thanks for posting useful insights for the less experienced.


Where do Bairs fall into Ike's repertoire? I use them for approaching, close up fights, and KO's, but I am curious to see what more experienced players think.

 

[Empy]

Nair is very useful, as it hits around a huge part of his body. Also, bair best use imo is for the approach, if you RAR it. However, RAR-Bair seems less useful against projectile spamming types, but just the nair and fair should do. Make sure you don't get in closer then you need to though, use the tip, like he's marth or something.

 

[ShadowLink84]

You're such a nice person, so polite.... I like you......

Now you made me feel bad about being mean....... I'm sorry.............Let's just bring it in for a group hug

I hope it helps.

I don't know whether to laugh at it being a joke.
or cry because its so sincere.

maybe both.

 

[Moo2]

A good thing about his Nair is that it provides a very good degree of range. It is one of the best moves to use against a roll when attacking from the air. And with RAR, u can reverse the direction of it to go the way the roller is going.

The reason the Fair is so good is simply because it applies a lot of pressure, making the other person either back off or dodge. If they dodge, then use a quick nair. If they back off, use the grand viper to quickly approach them.

 

[Whiteface]

I don't know whether to laugh at it being a joke.
or cry because its so sincere.

maybe both.

Its okay to do both... Its about love man.

I like the Fair a lot, but I'll have to try the Nair some more - it always seemed so slow to me. Thanks for posting useful insights for the less experienced.


Where do Bairs fall into Ike's repertoire? I use them for approaching, close up fights, and KO's, but I am curious to see what more experienced players think.

Yes but don't spam the N-air as much.. Its not as safe as the F-air when used correctly

I personally call the B-air the stinger as I use it mostly for punishing opponents. A short hop B-air right out of a shield is sooo rewarding. Try not to become obvious with this move. It's best used IMO in surprise attacks as most of Ike's moves are slow.

 

[.kR0]

I don't like RARing too often because if they shield it, I'm facing away from the opponent and often can't jab intercept in time.

And nair is godly, just not as spammable as jabs or fair.

 

[Pegasus Knight]

Now you've really caught my interest. I've been mostly using n-air as my approach, but I suppose a properly spaced f-air, done early to compensate a bit for lag, would be pretty safe. I'll have to give this a try.

 

[Ussi]

fair is used to kill light weights fast. Fair works well on those with low range. fair just had to be spaced like stated before

 

[Moo2]

fair is a great move, but it has to be spaced. Other wise, the opponent can shieldgrab u, or spotdodge and attack u. if u properly space it, they cannot do anything.

is that about the sum of it?

 

[metroid1117]

fair is a great move, but it has to be spaced. Other wise, the opponent can shieldgrab u, or spotdodge and attack u. if u properly space it, they cannot do anything.

is that about the sum of it?

Well, they can try to rush in and get jab comboed .

Seriously though, Ike's FAir is beastly. It has a HUGE range, large enough to offset it's lag time (you can just follow up with a jab if they shield it) and it does a good amount of damage and knockback. Retreating FAirs is a staple against anyone approaching you with a physical attack. The only thing I have to complain about is that if you use this move when your opponent is at low %, you won't be able to kill with it because of move degeneration. You can, however, short-hop FAir off the edge, double-jump FAir, and still up+B back onto the stage (you'll need the edge though).

 

[.kR0]

Generally, Ike's ground games consist of jabs, uptilt, dashattack (past opponent so you don't get shield grabbed). QDing is great except people pretty much got over its spacing range. QDing isn't as effective anymore. His jumps carry him far enough to space well for fair and doesn't have to rely heavily on QD.

His airgame is great with his nair/retreating fair alone. Retreating bair is great mix-up (run away back turned to mindgame opponent to thinking that you want distance for QD and DI forward bair).

Ike seriously has great edgeguard options. Just wish he can be airborne a bit longer.

I love double jumping and baiting their airdodge so I can use the laggy upair for a vertical K.O. off ledges. Great mindgame edgeguard mixing it up with bair/fair and a baited upair.

 

[TedBoosley]

Not that this is related the f-air discussion, but u-air is so good for covering air dodges and spot dodges on platforms that it's maddening.

For f-air examples, just watch the Azen vids.

 

[FishkeeperTimmay!]

Fair is by far one of Ike best moves. Despite the lag, the range and power makes it a nearly unstoppable approach option (in a game that lacks good option for approaching!).

However, the move DOES take skill to use. Not spacing it right = shieldgrab. Thats bad. And against some character (The Samuses and Links, Lucas and to a lesser extend, DDD) you will get shield grabbed even if you space it right.

However, its still one of your best approach options, and makes a pretty good edgegaurd.

 

[Pegasus Knight]

As a follow-up, I've been trying the f-air more lately, and found in matches with low lag, it is indeed a useful move if spaced like you all suggested. And it is likewise a decent air-chasing kill move around 100-130%. Very nice stuff, I'd mostly given up on the move due to technical difficulties using it (laggy matches plus startup delay = problematic), but now I see it much more clearly.

Thank you for your input, everyone.

 

[GenG]

I wasn't so fond of fair until I started to space it to hit with the tip. Even if you miss the move they'll sidestep afraid of it, so use it when you're under pressure.

You can also develop many mindgames from this, like empty shorthopping jumping as if you wanted to fair, fastfalling and rolling behind them.