How to Practice on Your Own(Work in Progress)[Updated 8/7/12]
Hey everyone, I'm at it again. This time, I'm going to answer one of the questions I've seen persist the longest since I started playing(and, indeed, had to tackle myself): How do you prepare for tournaments on your own?
Since Melee is not blessed with the gift of Wifi that other games have the great luxury of experiencing, we as Melee players have to get creative to solve problems related to gameplay when we get an urge to play by ourselves. Here, I hope to outline some strategies for handling every aspect of gameplay, from neutral position to punishment, and anything in between. I listed this post as a "Work in Progress" because I do not claim to know all training methods and I'm sure I will learn more on my path of improvement. For now, I will list anything and everything I know about training. Hopefully that will be enough for anyone aspiring to up their game.
Neutral position:
Neutral is easily the biggest part of Melee, and it's impossible I can get everything ever out of playing a human opponent down here, but here are some specific parts of playing a human that can be imitated....
1. Shadowboxing
For anyone(Kage) training for/reading about being a fighter, you've become quite familiar with this term I'm sure. Essentially, shadowboxing is the process of "pretending" to fight an opponent on your own. Here are a couple ways you can practice fighting against an actual opponent:
A. Take a low-level CPU/controller plugged into another slot(with or without handicap). Get into various ranges vs this opponent and do different fakeouts and attack patterns vs them. For example, as Falco, running up with a laser from different spacings and doing a DD fakeout into a spaced immediate SH Dair might be one mixup you use. Next time, do a laser from a similar spacing into a grab or maybe jab into whatever. Notice the mixup between direct and indirect attacking which will surely make you harder to read. You can also change your spacing and timing of each of your attacks as well as move choices and whether you FF or not, for some things to change up that will really work on human opponents.
Specific Character Basic Examples:
Puff: how many attacks you use while airborne and what you land into doing(ex: aerial into crouch vs aerial into grab)
Peach: when you FC/what height you FC at and what you land into doing(ex: crouch)
Spacies: whether you're close enough to shine or not
Marth: Different Fair/Nair/Dtilt zoning techniques that also intertwine with movement zoning techniques(ex: attacking out of different points in a DD or at different times in a SH)
Sheik: Fair/Bair/Ftilt/Dtilt zoning techniques+combination with mostly WD movement zoning techniques(ex: AC Fair at different spacings into WD back/forward dash attack/boost grab)
Ask for more examples for your character if these aren't clear/you need more clarification for a character that is not on here!
*credit to Cactuar for relaying this method to me*
B. A variation on shadowboxing that I have decided was worth mentioning is to single player glitch(ask if you don't know how to do this) so that you can pick a stage and it is just your character on the stage. That way, you are not tempted to combo after practicing in neutral position and getting the hit. Also, you learn how to maneuver around stages as well as you like and can practice any and all techniques as though a person were there. It feels more free-form for those people wanting to imagine an invisible opponent responding to their attacks or defenses.
The better you can attempt to imagine how an opponent will respond to your move(ment)s, the better this exercise will be. Your understanding of how an opponent will respond can come from videos and your own experience, so this exercise is limited only by the motivation of the person practicing it(for the most part, it would obviously be better to play a human but this is the next-best thing).
2. Playing with a metronome.
First of all:
http://advanced.bestmetronome.com is where you want to go in order to get the best metronome online. But what can a silly metronome do to make you better at neutral position? It just keeps rhythm! Well, that is actually the wonderful thing about metronomes: they have a consistent rhythm. Without devolving into a ton of explanation, rhythm is important at neutral because it's a great way to control your opponent and subconsciously trick them into thinking you will attack at the same rhythm you were using before you attacked. So, you can use this online metronome to keep time(and even change up at later parts if you fiddle with it enough) and allow a natural rhythm of attacking and defending to emerge.
Perhaps, as Fox, you want to DD into an Upsmash. Well, using the metronome, you can control the rhythm of your DD and then adjust it to have you speed up/slow down before the upsmash is delivered, thus throwing off your opponent's rhythm and making them more likely to be caught off guard by your attack.
As Puff, maybe you want to slow the fast opponent down. You should do lots of slower dashes and maybe wait a little in between doing each jumping aerial. Your opponent will have to be watching for a moment to strike, but his reflexes may be slowed by how slowly you are moving. Then you can attack him swiftly while he is still waiting for you to drift around some more! The metronome can help Puff players keep her dashes slower but even and her jumping aerials timed far enough apart to disorient their opponents.
*credit to Cactuar*
side note: you can, of course, practice rhythm without a metronome by shadowboxing with or without a character on the screen and just working on your rhythm by itself, but this is for those who struggle with the concept or want to experiment with many different rhythms outside of their creativity level.
3. Counterattacking
This is really an add-on to shadowboxing, but I decided to give it its own section because of how underlooked yet important it is. Counterattacking is nothing more than taking your opponent's attack and using it against them/punishing them for it.
Part of counterattacking comes from understanding hitboxes and how they work. Some moves get smaller hitboxes if they're out for longer(Fox Nair), some stay the same but arc, so they aren't as useful until even later than they come out(Marth/Ganon Fair). Learning hitboxes and how exactly the moves work for your character vs every other character can be a great asset when you really need that kill move or combo starter. You may need another player to test many of these moves with yours at different timings, but that can be done at a smashfest/before bracket if you can't get anyone to do that with you before then.
The part you CAN test on your own is when you have a CPU that is set to a higher level and tries to attack you. Staying close to him but still avoiding the attack, you can chose many different hitboxes and angles to attack from once the opponent has initiated an action. WD'ing, DD'ing, jumping, shielding(sort of), spotdogding, rolling, airdodging...their are many ways to dodge attacks. The way you counter will be up to you.
Spacies: spotdodge into shine on otherwise unpunishable jabs/tilts. Also, SH'ing over a low attack into a Bair/Dair.
Peach: Float just as the attack comes out into FC aerial. CC a jab into your own jab grab(if Dsmash isn't worth going for).
Marth: Dash away to avoid the attack, to dash partway back in rising Fair/Nair to outrange the smaller attack. Also, CC grab(very good but underused).
Sheik: SH over an attack into Fair. Also, WD back dash/boost grab.
Puff: Crouch under an attack to rest/Fsmash. Also, shielding the attack and then WD'ing OOS to grab/Uptilt the opponent.
*credit to Cactuar*
Comboing:
So you might be wondering how can one practice combos when the CPU doesn't mix up its DI and doesn't usually tech? Well, we are going to defer to the M2K strategy on this one.
M2K's strategy was essentially taking every percent reasonably possible(so maybe 0-130% at the greatest range) and seeing what would happen off of a grab/hit at that percent and how the opponent could DI and what the followup could be like. Yes, it is tedious. The payoff is amazing though(look at M2K combo videos).
Tip: CPUs DI in different ways based on level, so testing combos on different levels of CPUs is incredibly useful. At the 7-9 end of CPU level, they DI harder and harder in for MOST situations. I'm pretty sure 6 mixes up its DI between in and out/neutral decently. I think 1-2 don't DI much at all. M2K has claimed that 3 has the most humanlike DI(for CGs anyway) but I haven't messed with that too much. I actually never play with 4s or 5s but I will update this section here when I do(if anyone wants to go check and tell me that works too haha).
**The basic point is to not play one level of CPU much at all but to experiment combo starters on ALL CPU levels at ALL important percents.
The way M2K explains his combos is he gets opponents offstage/into the air/on their backs and turns most situations into 50/50 guesses if not better in his favor.
So,
For Falco, this would mean practicing getting the opponent on their back on a platform/by the edge ideally so he could cover many options with Dair/Bair.
For Fox, this could mean getting them into the air and threatening between jumping with Uair/Bair or waiting and Uptilting, or getting them onto their back and waiting for an appropriate punish(he is fast enough), or covering all high-recovery options with a rising Bair of some sort.
For Peach, this would mean....well you can watch Armada do it LOL but basically it's getting them into the air if he can't finish the combo outright and then using a turnip or the threat of Peach jumping with Uair/Nair and trading/beating them outright to scare them into attacking or airdodging and then he gets a free hit if he guesses correctly.
For Marth, this would mean getting the opponent into the air and working his SH Uair to cover their descent into him or threatening with Uair and then DJ'ing into attacking them instead or waiting and Uptilting/WD Fsmashing/DD grabbing. Marth can also get the opponent onto the ground by the edge with a throw and Dair to cover pretty much all of their options.
For Sheik, this could mean getting the opponent into the air and threatening with SH (AC) Uair/Bair. It could also mean getting the opponent to tech by the edge and running up and Dsmash'ing/Upsmash'ing to cover most/all of their options.
For Puff, this could mean getting them airborne and tripping them up on whether she Uairs their landing lag or dodges and grabs them. When the opponent is grounded, Puff can float over them and aerial to cover 3/4ths of their options if they're by the edge(rolling into her or getup attacking or a very well timed standing getup would be all that's safe and she can react and punish those).
This may sound like it's something people could do naturally playing, but if they don't actually sit down and learn to maximize their punishments, then they tend not to be able to do it. My own punishments suffer because I don't do this enough. Practice in a situation breeds familiarity. The more comfortable one is with a situation, the better they will be at handling it when it arises again. Plus, people generally learn better trying things on their own under low/no risk situations. Having knowledge you cultivated yourself also means you will retain it easier and not lose it under pressure(aka when it counts).
Oh yeah, a final tip in case I didn't really say it outright: Always consider options outside of what you saw. consider all defensive options for the combo you are performing. Consider SDI and no DI. Consider whether they attack or wait, whether they stand up right away or lay still a while. Once you have considered all options and know all options, then you can abuse them the best.
*very sad note: I have nothing to offer on edgeguarding or I'd put it here =(*
Teching and DI:
I'll add this first in case most people don't know about it.
A. Motion-Sensor Bomb teching. I suppose this is good for onstage DI/teching practice as well but I'm mostly talking about its uses as a means for aiding recovery teching practice. The gist is this: You put the motion-sensor bomb on the wall right around where a hitbox might connect with your character. Then when you recover into it you get a hitbox as you get close to the bomb just like it would be someone attacking you. Rinse and repeat as needed!
B. Credits to Ice for this one! Ice practiced teching using moves that take some time to start up like Marth Fsmash or Falcon punch. What he would do is get a second controller, get the character to a designated teching percent, start the move then pause. He would then switch the controller, unpause the game when he was ready, and see if he could get the DI down for the tech(he only uses DI down[holding control stick down] and not double sticking or quarter-circling or SDI for this by the way). Be sure to know exactly how much percent your character can take before each individual finisher from the opponent becomes untechable!
Added information on how to tech correctly from LEFFEN!
Important things about practicing teching:
-Use taunts to make sure that you aren't crouch canceling
-You need to fly as close to the ground as possible, this means that you will almost always DI Down+Away, not Down+towards like many use for Spacie Dsmashes (it only works for it)
-To practice it, I simply taunt with the character I wanna tech with, start whatever move with my other controller and pause [before it hits], switch controllers, input tech/DI
its kind of embarrassing that no one but Ice has really started using tech's yet, it makes edgeguarding/punishing soooooooo much harder. Marth recovers onto ledge at 150% and you jump->Bair? lol free tech.
You wanna dair? I either tech or just edge cancel away the lag. Free.
Strong fsmash at 120%? No problem, tech.
Its really stupid, and its sooooo easy. Down+Away on control stick, down on cstick, R way a bit before attack hits. Done
Character-specific training methods(big work in progress):
Okay, so I thought I'd take the time to list anything character-specific that might not be covered in my other sections.
A. Shield pressure(Spacies, Peach, etc?)
There are two main ways that I currently know of to practice shield pressure(without Action Replay):
1. Training mode Starman. You can't use the C stick but the hitlag for people with a Starman on is the same as that of hitting a shield. Set a Starman as the item, put it on the required character, and practice not missing your L-cancels and mixing up your spacing/timing. It's as useful as you want it to be.
2. Handicap practice. Set a CPU/other plugged in controller to a handicap of 9 and yourself as a 1. That way, the opponent doesn't go anywhere from getting hit by your attacks and you can practice all you want. Additionally, hitlag from hitting a non-shielding opponent is the same as hitting a shielding opponent, so the timings will be the same if you practice correctly.
B. Shield Dropping(all)
Put a lower-level CPU against yourself(or higher if you wanna practice faster), jump on a platform, let the CPU jump and hit your shield and see if you can shield drop+maybe punish successfully. Of course, if you just want to drop through a platform without your shield getting hit, then you can just 1 player glitch/plug in another controller/go to training mode to practice moving and shield dropping on your own.
*to be continued*
Miscellaneous
This section is for anything(probably player-related) that helps them train.
A. Listening to music.
Maybe an upbeat song keeps your spirits high/rhythm solid. Maybe a slower song helps you maintain composure/keep a slower rhythm. Maybe your favorite song puts you in the mood to just play the game. Whatever the reason, listening to music can definitely keep a player engaged while playing the game.
B. Imagining the crowd being hype/playing crowd reactions.
Perhaps you struggle with dealing with the crowd. Well, imagine people talking or yelling behind you when you run through training exercises. It can be a great way to get used to hype. If you run out of motivation for people yelling/get used to the kind you create, then maybe load some crowd reactions on Youtube and see if that is easy to train with.
C. Thinking about the game.
This one is kind of broad because it can be about literally anything and is different to everyone. Perhaps you want to think about edgeguarding more because you can't really practice it, so you imagine trying to edgeguard a top player recovering and how you would get the kill. Maybe you want to think up new things to apply in your shadowboxing training like a new movement trick or a character with a faster jab so they're harder to dodge. Maybe you want to think up new combo setups to test out.
No matter what topic(s) you pick, always follow it as long as you possibly can, branching out as much as you can. The deeper you delve into a topic, the more you will learn and question from that. The questions lead to searches for answers/motivation. The stuff you learn helps you do well and allows you to improve more without even playing the game.
*credit to Dkou for this suggestion*
(if anyone wants me to rephrase/add to this, let me know!)
D. Powershielding
Tired of Falco's lasers locking you down? Not sure what to do about Samus' missiles? Well then read this post by LEFFEN to get an idea of how to practice each technique!
I'm gonna write some more but this should be up there:
Powershielding:
Pick a level 9 falco on FD. You use a second controller, but then you'll often only learn to do it when you know beforehand that the laser is coming and at a set distance (lvl 9 falcos walk around etc)
Run away from him, and wait for him to laser, react and powershield. Mixup by powershielding during different animations, types of movement, with more or less shield durability left, and so on.
If you wanna try at different heights of lasers, use Corneria
This also works with:
- Peach (Turnips, practice catching them and using them, using them to recover, powershielding them)
- Dr Mario (Pills, practice powershielding, jabbing to cancel them out etc)
-Sheik (Needles, super tedious because of Zelda and she doesnt jump needle >_>)
-Samus (Uses all her projectiles, if you kill yourself and wait she'll charge up her neutral B)
- Ylink/Link (everything)
- Mario/Luigi (Fireballs)
- Pika/Pichu -(Jolts)
- Mewtwo (Shadowballs, charges up if you die and wait)
- ICs (Iceblocks, practice breaking them with attacks)
The reason why Leffen says do the powershield out of different movements and such is because Falco can shoot at many different times in a match, and you want to be prepared to powershield from ANY position. Get creative!
E. S2J's L-canceling practice!
Smash is a 10+ year old game. Thus, it is tough to find a way to legitly practice by yourself.
However, I devised a simple training method that helps people practice/learn the basics.
In this particular case, it is L-cancelling.
==
To make good use of your personal time, try this in Versus Mode:
1v3.
Your character vs 3 Ice Climbers.
Each Ice Climbers is Level 1.
No friendly fire
Yoshi's story
==
I am a Captain Falcon main. Practicing your short hop Aerials until you get every L-cancel down in different situations helps
==
Now, go spam your aerials on the ice climbers and try to perfect L-cancelling. Why is this better than facing regular computers? Because when you hit multiple ice climbers (ranging from 1 to 3-4~) the timing switches.
By being able to hit people and L-cancel at different timings with no mistakes, you have already became a better smasher.
This is especially effective vs actual Ice Climbers 1v1 because you WILL hit both climbers sometimes.
It is also great in teams because you will hit both people too (or their shields)
I also believe it helps 1v1, even if it isn't a direct parallel of real games
So to those who always ask how to get better alone, try this! I assure you I still use it when I need to warm up quick. It is good both as a quick means of warming up L-cancelling but also to simply learn the game.
If i get a hold of video making software and a copy of melee I may make a video to demonstrate. Hopefully I was being clear enough.
COPYRIGHT@ s2J FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
This applies to ALL characters because they all have hard cancels to hit sometimes!
F. Cactuar is at it again! This time, he is telling us how to use hitbox .gifs(animations) to study other characters' hitboxes and learn where the openings are so we can sneak our own moves in before/after them!
Something I've found really helpful...
Take a bit of a time to just watch the gifs of top/high tier character frames for hitboxes. Don't just look at them, but really watch them. Look at how long it takes the move to come out, think about how close they would have to be to you for it to hit you, and most importantly. as soon as the hitbox retracts, keep repeating to yourself "HIT" or "ATTACK" or something, just to get into the mindset of "this is when I can punish their miss". It does wonders for improving spacing, as you will get more comfortable being closer (just out of range) of the opponent, and have better working knowledge of when you can throw yourself into them.
Example: You look at Marth's Fair:
You see the sword starts above his head and moves downward. You can tell yourself to attack just as it starts since it will be on his head and you will below him, OR you can tell yourself to attack when the hitbox has disappeared. Learning how long you have for the move to come out or how much lag there is on the move after being used gives you a great idea of when to tell yourself to attack!
G. Mahone's spacing tips!
but anyway... what will really help people who think they can space is to try to land moves at different parts of pokemon stadium...
the stage has a lot of lines that are symetrical and its tourney legal so its really good for this
basically, say, "im going to falco dair starting in the middle of the pokeball and end at the end of the red side of the pokeball" (You MUST say this outloud, if you dont, you wont get ANYTHING out of this technique).
you might be surprised at how little you can control your movement in the air and where you land...
this is probably because there is a lot of leeway in matches in whether you hit or miss, especially against an opponent of similiar skill level, but the better you get, the more finite the movements become and it becomes important to really control ur character
you can use: the middle of the pokeball, then the end of the pokeball, then the yellow triangles, then the gray line, then the end of the felt, then the end of the stage, as well as using the platforms (even using the red arrows on the platforms, which i assume indicate the exact middle of it)
heres a birds-eye view so you can understand what im saying:
This SAME technique was used by FORWARD when developing his dash dance. He would dash between the "tick marks" as he called them on PS, back and forth. He was told his DD was "unreadable" at Pound 3 I believe.
*to be continued*
OKAY guys, I've written all I can think of/manage right now. Please give me feedback and use whatever is useful here to the best of your abilities! =)
's Peach. Any advice or critique is welcome. :D
i know i get distracted with practicing neutral position so i like your idea for using the single player glitch.
