The_Most_Effectual
Smash Apprentice
I, as many Ness players do, seldom use Dair ("seldom" as in, like, never). Perhaps I'm not up to speed with current Ness gameplay, but I haven't seen anybody reliably and consistently using this move. I believe there are four main reasons as to why this is:
1. The spike is somewhat hard to land.
Who doesn't love the satisfying feeling you get when you land a good, clean spike? Spikes are hype--But Ness' is not. The frame data speaks for itself. When the hitbox comes out, you have to hit on the first couple of frames, right under Ness' foot. The sweet-spot, spiking hitbox does 12% damage, anything else does 10%. I would compare landing a spike with Ness's Dair to landing a tipper with Marth, you have to pay attention to where you are, where your opponent is, and where you both will by the time the move comes out. It's much less timing based than most characters' spikes, and more based on a combination of timing and spacing.
2. The move has a weird startup on the animation.
This ties into point #1, but the startup the move has makes it hard to land. I can see lots of beginner Ness players using this move to cover their landing while an opponent is below them, only to land without the move itself ever coming out. If your opponent is off stage and you are coming down above them, you might think to use this move in an attempt to work around the startup and land the spike. However, if your opponent has decently quick reaction time, they will see the startup and air dodge.
3. This move has God-awful landing-lag
This ties into point #2, as the two combined make this move very unsafe to use on stage. Using this move anytime that is not prior to the apex of a full hop will result in Ness landing and suffering the ending lag. Honestly, this move is great when used on stage. It does decent damage and the startup even serves as a bit of a fake-out. If you land the spike while they're standing and they don't tech, they will be popped up into the air, allowing lots of follow-up options. But none of this can be done safely when the landing-lag is factored in.
4. Ness' other aerials vastly outshine this one.
When you have a character known for their amazing air-game, with extremely quick, safe, and powerful aerials, why would you ever want to use a move that is slow, dangerous, and hard to land? He just has other options that are better in nearly every way. Choosing to use a huge-risk, low-reward move over a low-risk, decent-reward move isn't a good a idea in the heat of a match, and thus it goes unused.
The Possible Use:
All this said, I do believe that I have a possibility of a way to use this move. It's a pretty simple technique, and it's worked pretty reliably for me when I've tried it. It's only when you're off-stage, and you're below your opponent.
Perform a double jump and immediately push down on the C-stick (I use the C-stick for aerials, and IMO this tech is easier to perform this way, but it can be done by pushing down and A.). What you're essentially doing here is combining the awkward animation and timing of Dair with the height and speed of a DJ. Dair is "charging" while Ness is moving upward, and comes out right when he reaches the peak of his DJ. The whole thing happens very quickly and takes opponents who aren't expecting it by surprise. It's spacing actually isn't as obscure as it might sound. Let's say you're chasing an opponent offstage, looking for a gimp. If they air dodge a falling Nair/Fair, they will be at about the height they should be to DJ and Dair.
Like I said before, it's simple, but effective. I think there's some promise here, but I would love to hear what you guys have to think. I have video of me performing it, but I don't know how to upload it on here for you to see. It may not be anything, but I at least wanted to run it by you guys. Thanks!
1. The spike is somewhat hard to land.
Who doesn't love the satisfying feeling you get when you land a good, clean spike? Spikes are hype--But Ness' is not. The frame data speaks for itself. When the hitbox comes out, you have to hit on the first couple of frames, right under Ness' foot. The sweet-spot, spiking hitbox does 12% damage, anything else does 10%. I would compare landing a spike with Ness's Dair to landing a tipper with Marth, you have to pay attention to where you are, where your opponent is, and where you both will by the time the move comes out. It's much less timing based than most characters' spikes, and more based on a combination of timing and spacing.
2. The move has a weird startup on the animation.
This ties into point #1, but the startup the move has makes it hard to land. I can see lots of beginner Ness players using this move to cover their landing while an opponent is below them, only to land without the move itself ever coming out. If your opponent is off stage and you are coming down above them, you might think to use this move in an attempt to work around the startup and land the spike. However, if your opponent has decently quick reaction time, they will see the startup and air dodge.
3. This move has God-awful landing-lag
This ties into point #2, as the two combined make this move very unsafe to use on stage. Using this move anytime that is not prior to the apex of a full hop will result in Ness landing and suffering the ending lag. Honestly, this move is great when used on stage. It does decent damage and the startup even serves as a bit of a fake-out. If you land the spike while they're standing and they don't tech, they will be popped up into the air, allowing lots of follow-up options. But none of this can be done safely when the landing-lag is factored in.
4. Ness' other aerials vastly outshine this one.
When you have a character known for their amazing air-game, with extremely quick, safe, and powerful aerials, why would you ever want to use a move that is slow, dangerous, and hard to land? He just has other options that are better in nearly every way. Choosing to use a huge-risk, low-reward move over a low-risk, decent-reward move isn't a good a idea in the heat of a match, and thus it goes unused.
The Possible Use:
All this said, I do believe that I have a possibility of a way to use this move. It's a pretty simple technique, and it's worked pretty reliably for me when I've tried it. It's only when you're off-stage, and you're below your opponent.
Perform a double jump and immediately push down on the C-stick (I use the C-stick for aerials, and IMO this tech is easier to perform this way, but it can be done by pushing down and A.). What you're essentially doing here is combining the awkward animation and timing of Dair with the height and speed of a DJ. Dair is "charging" while Ness is moving upward, and comes out right when he reaches the peak of his DJ. The whole thing happens very quickly and takes opponents who aren't expecting it by surprise. It's spacing actually isn't as obscure as it might sound. Let's say you're chasing an opponent offstage, looking for a gimp. If they air dodge a falling Nair/Fair, they will be at about the height they should be to DJ and Dair.
Like I said before, it's simple, but effective. I think there's some promise here, but I would love to hear what you guys have to think. I have video of me performing it, but I don't know how to upload it on here for you to see. It may not be anything, but I at least wanted to run it by you guys. Thanks!
