PK Freeze??

[Tito Maas]

I'm a first-time Lucas user and not a big Ness user. Always laughed at the PK Flash's best efficiency being "one hit out of a hundred", and even though PK Freeze is faster and has more horizontal range, it's really not much different, seemingly.

But the question I have is... are there any follow-ups to a landed PK Freeze? There's a lot of knockback but it doesn't seem like you can add onto that knockback by hitting a frozen enemy, and it launches people pretty far (even though it can't kill Paletuna until the 180's without rage).

What's the use for it? Is it really just extra damage and nothing more? Are there any follow-ups? Besides spacing when an opponent is out of range of the PK Fire, and maybe baiting an air dodge on an offstage opponent, is there any reason to actually use the PK Freeze?

 

[PKPenguin]

Really the only uses I've found for it are killing off the top if the opponent's already very close to the upper blast zone and extending strings thanks to the horizontal range on it. I guess you could get a free f-smash or two (or try to chain it into another Freeze) for some easy damage, but that seems to be the limit of its utility.

 

[kmac$]

I don't use it very often, but I've had some success using it to defend ledge recoveries - particularly against characters with really rigid recoveries (Mac, Ryu, Roy, Marth, etc.) - and as an "anti-air" move when I'm just trying to lay down some chip damage near the end of a stock.

 

[V23]

its also very strong as a reaction after pk fire they tend to jump, if you insta pk freeze after a fire hit confirm you get freeze hit for free, most of the time.

 

[Token523]

if you catch Wii fit trainer off stage hitting the soccer ball ok freeze can hit her and the soccer ball will bounce off and make the ice fall down instead of up

 

[TerraSky]

I generally use PK freeze a spacing tool when they're out of range of PK fire, to edgeguard, or to punish opponents who approach while airborne. I rarely actually get a hit, but when I do they usually get launched high enough where the only guaranteed follow up is with a PK Thunder. It's not too essential to Lucas' gameplay, but it's a nice tool to mix things up with. Who knows, it may surprise you.

 

[theyellowflash26]

You can follow up with aerials for more damage, or with pk fire you can get some decent knockback since it will insta thaw them.

 

[ToastMiller]

if you catch Wii fit trainer off stage hitting the soccer ball ok freeze can hit her and the soccer ball will bounce off and make the ice fall down instead of up

This happened to me and it made me so mad.

 

[Pixah]

I found out that it's pretty easy to follow up dtrhow with pk freeze against people who instantly airdodge but have not found a very good follow up for it.

 

[Furfrou]

ludwig and zero suit samus were both around 100-120% when I hit PK freeze, jigglypuff was more around 75%

you can also use it to bait air dodges so you can fsmash them or something similar

 

[JohnnyB]

- Long range pressure tool. It does good shield damage thus limiting your opponents defensive options if you approach after they shield it.

- Harass offstage opponents (though i would probably rather use pkt for this)

- Dthrow followups.

So far it doesnt seem to be an incredibly useful move, but just like Little Macs aerils i think it has use as a mixup. It's a damn sight better than Nesses pkflash though.

 

[Zeriora]

What i love to do, i'll back throw someone off the ledge, and if they jump, higher than the ledge. I'll PK freeze and hit them. Then I'd go for a back air. Suprisingly enough, i can land it at early percents. and get the kill.
EDIT- Not a true combo, not even combo, more a read.

 

[phili]

ludwig and zero suit samus were both around 100-120% when I hit PK freeze, jigglypuff was more around 75%

you can also use it to bait air dodges so you can fsmash them or something similar

Very creative follow up. Definitely will be using this

 

[Finferno00]

I use it as a hard read for an aerial approach, along with zair fair and Nair, a stage chaser, or an approach option.

 

[StinkyHands]

Here is a clip of a sick PK Freeze offstage into a Back Air spike! It was so sick when it happened! Sorry for the quality but you'll like this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM5f407VIRc

 

[The 0ne]

Try using PK Fire out of it. As all fire moves work, they thaw a frozen opponent immediately. This setup gets them offstage with some nice percent on them.

It's also good for team combos, because someone can already be high up in the air, and especially if THEY have a fire move, that can lead to some crazy ****.

 

[LightlyToasted]

I most commonly get an up air off of it at middle percent, but at low percent you can sometimes get a neutral air, which is usually more dmg, as frozen targets take reduced dmg, but the 1 dmg hits from neutral air are not reduced. That's why when you can do it, pk thunder 2 into is so sick.

I also most commonly use it to get more inexperienced players to charge at me low, only to catch them off gurad with the surprisingly lower ending lag and a jab combo.

Also while risky a b reverse pk freeze jumpingoff stage using the momentum to get back on stage can throw people off.

 

[Tito Maas]

Here is a clip of a sick PK Freeze offstage into a Back Air spike! It was so sick when it happened! Sorry for the quality but you'll like this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM5f407VIRc

That was sick!

 

[The 0ne]

Something I just remembered and I don't know why I forgot to tell you this earlier:

Use PK Freeze out of PK Freeze. Get them right after they thaw out. This can lead to HEAVY damage or even a kill off the top.

It's probably the most damaging true combo in the game.

 

[Aiight]

I'm like 99% sure that it's not a true combo, but i've gotten PK freeze into PK thunder 2 to kill around 60-80% depending on weight. I was only testing in training mode though so a real player could probably mash out of the PK freeze before the PK thunder 2 connects

 

[The 0ne]

I'm like 99% sure that it's not a true combo, but i've gotten PK freeze into PK thunder 2 to kill around 60-80% depending on weight. I was only testing in training mode though so a real player could probably mash out of the PK freeze before the PK thunder 2 connects

It is definitely a true combo if the PKT2 is hitting then while frozen and continues until they thaw. But yeah you'd have to do it fast so they don't Nash out before that happens.

 

[TIL]

ludwig and zero suit samus were both around 100-120% when I hit PK freeze, jigglypuff was more around 75%

you can also use it to bait air dodges so you can fsmash them or something similar

There is definitely not enough time to land this against mashing opponents. You'd possibly have enough time if the PK freeze is fully charged, but I can't see how any player would take a fully charged PK freeze in competitive play. This looks super cool, but impractical.

 

[meleebrawler]

For me PK Freeze is better when it DOESN'T hit, and baits out an airdodge. With it's low endlag you can really capitalize.

 

[JosePollo]

I'm like 99% sure that it's not a true combo, but i've gotten PK freeze into PK thunder 2 to kill around 60-80% depending on weight. I was only testing in training mode though so a real player could probably mash out of the PK freeze before the PK thunder 2 connects

Surprisingly, the most effective way to avoid dying to the PK Elevator is to simply not mash out of PK Freeze. At high percentages (percentages at which no DI would save you from dying to PKT2) you're stuck long enough that most PKT2's will end and you'll break out of PK Freeze with ample time to punish Lucas out of special fall. Breaking out early makes it more likely you'll die to the final hit of PKT2, since it's a huuuuge hitbox (size 12--same size as the sweet spot of his up smash) and has a lot of base knockback (meaning it can kill relatively early if it takes you high enough up, regardless of your damage).