Question on DI

[Zero Meddler]

So I've been reading a lot on DI and its uses although HOW to do it has been a bit confusing. I've looked up how to do it but I've either found nothing actually explaning it or a very confusing tutorial. I want to just clear up my confusion so that I can actually DI correctly and not PatG it. Here's what I have concluded (based on what I've read).

To DI , you hold the control stick perpendicular in the direction you are launched.
So if you're launched vertically, you hold the control stick horizontally left or right.
If launched left, you hold up and to the right.

Is there anything I'm missing? (Probably am LOL)
Apologies if this is painful to read. I'm a complete noob when it comes to competitive play.

 

[Kadano]

Follow-up video (gets pretty complicated in the second half): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkdPVUlrSOo

 

[Greed-checkTheTek]

When I DI I just smash the stick towards the stage when I get sent flying and I survive with marth up to 200%
So let's say i get sent in the air, I'd smash the stick down, it works for me and i survive up to really high percentages.It's all the reaction time.

 

[Zero Meddler]

When I DI I just smash the stick towards the stage when I get sent flying and I survive with marth up to 200%
So let's say i get sent in the air, I'd smash the stick down, it works for me and i survive up to really high percentages.It's all the reaction time.

Okay okay... I see. I've

When I DI I just smash the stick towards the stage when I get sent flying and I survive with marth up to 200%
So let's say i get sent in the air, I'd smash the stick down, it works for me and i survive up to really high percentages.It's all the reaction time.

It's staring to make sense.
Thanks both of you. ^^

 

[Greed-checkTheTek]

Okay okay... I see. I've

It's staring to make sense.
Thanks both of you. ^^

No problem!

 

[Stride]

When I DI I just smash the stick towards the stage when I get sent flying and I survive with marth up to 200%
So let's say i get sent in the air, I'd smash the stick down, it works for me and i survive up to really high percentages.It's all the reaction time.

This doesn't sound right; could you clarify what you mean by "towards the stage"? So, if you were hit by Marth's forward smash at kill percent from the left (sending you to the right at a 45° angle), which way would you DI in order to survive? Are you saying you always DI everything the same way (regardless of the move's launch angle, or whether you want to escape a combo or survive a kill move)?

 

[Greed-checkTheTek]

This doesn't sound right; could you clarify what you mean by "towards the stage"? So, if you were hit by Marth's forward smash at kill percent from the left (sending you to the right at a 45° angle), which way would you DI in order to survive? Are you saying you always DI everything the same way (regardless of the move's launch angle, or whether you want to escape a combo or survive a kill move)?

I just slam the stick the opposite direction that im flying , so if i get sent 45 degrees to the right side of the stage i will slam it 45 degrees the opposite way.

 

[Stride]

I just slam the stick the opposite direction that im flying , so if i get sent 45 degrees to the right side of the stage i will slam it 45 degrees the opposite way.

If I understand you correctly, then that doesn't do anything at all. Do you mean that if you were sent straight up then you would DI straight down?

 

[Greed-checkTheTek]

If I understand you correctly, then that doesn't do anything at all. Do you mean that if you were sent straight up then you would DI straight down?

yup

 

[Stride]

yup

It has literally no effect at all.

Watch Kadano's video for an in-depth explanation, but basically:
DI does not change how far you fly, only the angle at which you are launched.

If you get sent straight up, then holding straight left or right would change your direction the most, while holding diagonally up would move you to the side by a smaller amount (but would not make you fly any higher at all; you would still only have your angle be made more horizontal, just to a lesser extent than holding completely left or right). Your knockback angle changes by 18sin^2(x) where x is your control stick angle. Therefore you can alter your launch angle by up to 18°. Accurate numbers here: http://smashboards.com/threads/how-to-di-almost-every-move-in-melee.384442/#post-20113132

You make yourself survive longer by making yourself be launched at an angle as close to the angle which puts the greatest distance between you and the blast zone as possible. For example, if you are knocked at a 90° angle, you can DI at an angle perpendicular to the 90° (which means holding straight up in this case) to make yourself be launched at a more vertical angle (72° in this case), giving yourself greater distance to travel before dying (letting you survive to higher percentages).

It's all the reaction time.

And, as you get more and more used to DI, reaction speed becomes less of a factor; you will get used to DIing hits on reaction (this is especially true for moves which are slow or with lots of hitlag, such as Marth's forward smash which is both).

 

[Greed-checkTheTek]

Lol well idk I survive alot longer when I do what I do ;p thanks for the info I'll look into it.

 

[Stride]

Remember that there are are 2 reasons to use DI:
• To make yourself survive being hit by kill moves; you want to DI so that you get sent into the corner of the blast zones so that you have the greatest possible distance to travel. This is "survival DI".
• To get out of combos; you want to DI such that your opponent cannot follow up on their hits (whether to extend the combo or finish it with a kill move/edgeguard setup). This is more complicated, since there isn't always an optimal angle to DI. This is "combo DI".

Watch this combo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUKDqKygZCo&t=188s
During the section on the platform, PPMD is Ding up because he's expecting Mew2King to use a forward aerial to send him offstage/kill him. In that situation, holding up would be good survival DI, allowing him to live longer. However, instead of using the forward aerial that PPMD is expecting, Mew2King chooses to use several forward tilts and late back aerials; these move are weak combo moves that keep PPMD in range of the further hits but will not kill him.

PP could have gotten out of the combo by DIing these hits away, but if he had done that and Mew2King had chosen to use a forward aerial, then he would have DIed it badly and died as a result. By DIing up, he allowed the combo to be extended, letting Mew2King build up enough percent that PPMD could not survive the kill move (forward aerial) even with perfect survival DI. Knowing/deciding when to use survival DI and when to use combo DI is very important (even though they are technically the same thing, just different ways of using it).

To DI , you hold the control stick perpendicular in the direction you are launched.

While holding the stick perpendicular will result in the greatest change in angle, it is not always the best option; you want to get sent at the most useful angle, not the most different. The closer to parallel you DI, the less of a change to the angle there will be, which is sometimes a good thing; if holding perpendicular at 45° lets you survive up to 120% while holding not-quite-perpendicular at 30° lets you survive up to 125% then you would prefer to hold at 30°.

 

[Zero Meddler]

While holding the stick perpendicular will result in the greatest change in angle, it is not always the best option; you want to get sent at the most useful angle, not the most different. The closer to parallel you DI, the less of a change to the angle there will be, which is sometimes a good thing; if holding parallel at 45° lets you survive up to 120% while holding not-quite-parallel at 30° lets you survive up to 125% then you would prefer to hold at 30°.

So it's more about holding the stick in the direction you want to go when being hit or launched.

Huh. It was that simple... ^^''''

 

[_A1]

Lol well idk I survive alot longer when I do what I do ;p thanks for the info I'll look into it.

That's not DI. That's called vectoring, which is reducing the knockback rather than redirecting it, but it only works in Smash 4. So basically it's like you aren't doing anything.

EDIT: Forgot to ask this: You said you lived up to 200%, so what moves are you living?

 

[Yurya]

So it's more about holding the stick in the direction you want to go when being hit or launched.

Huh. It was that simple... ^^''''

Somewhat, you can change the angle you are supposed to be sent by up to 18 degrees to either side. The angle held changes by varying degrees and going to far in a direct actual reduces the amount changed. Holding completely opposite (180 degrees) the original angle does nothing (except maybe Smash DI which is different).

 

[Stride]

So it's more about holding the stick in the direction you want to go when being hit or launched.

Huh. It was that simple... ^^''''

Kind of; not every direction has the same effect. As I explained in my previous posts, if you are sent straight right (90)° and hold straight left (270°) then nothing will happen at all. If you hold straight up (0°) instead, then you will go at a more vertical angle (72°), but still to the right; this is the greatest change in angle possible. If you hold diagonally up (45°), then you will not move any further forwards/backwards; you will just make yourself go at a slightly more vertical angle to a lesser extent than holding straight up.

If you are sent at a 45° angle and want to DI so that you you are sent as close to a 90° angle as possible, you would not DI straight right (90°); you would DI down-right (135°). This is because DI has a greater effect the more perpendicular to your original angle you hold.

You can only change your angle (and only within certain limits), not how far you get sent.

 

[Zero Meddler]

Kind of; not every direction has the same effect. As I explained in my previous posts, if you are sent straight right (90)° and hold straight left (270°) then nothing will happen at all. If you hold straight up (0°) instead, then you will go at a more vertical angle (72°), but still to the right; this is the greatest change in angle possible. If you hold diagonally up (45°), then you will not move any further forwards/backwards; you will just make yourself go at a slightly more vertical angle to a lesser extent than holding straight up.

If you are sent at a 45° angle and want to DI so that you you are sent as close to a 90° angle as possible, you would not DI straight right (90°); you would DI down-right (135°). This is because DI has a greater effect the more perpendicular to your original angle you hold.

You can only change your angle (and only within certain limits), not how far you get sent.[/quote]
I'm starting to really get it. So DI is more about holding the control stick in the direction you want to alter your trajectory rather than JUST perpendicular.

Using your example, If I was launched at a 45° angle to the left I'd hold down and to the left if I wanted an effective DI. But If I wanted a more vertical trajectory, I'd hold the stick straight up.... right?

^^''' I do apologize for my ignorance. Just want to understand this.

 

[Kadano]

I don’t understand why you don’t simply watch the video I provided in the first reply here. At 3:22, I included a diagram that shows how the effective launch angle scales with different control stick positions.

Also, 90° is not straight right. That’s 0°.

 

[Bones0]

Ignore everything Greed-checkTheTek has said and watch the video.

 

[Zero Meddler]

Afte reading your comments, watching the videos and practicing a bit, I'm starting to understand this. Now I just need to practice it even more. XD Thanks for the help everyone.