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Official Samus

Jaedrik

Man-at-Arms-at-Keyboard
Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
5,054
I must be doing something severely wrong if I haven't won a single yet. What moves do you get the most KOs off of? I usually get KOs on Up B and charge shot.
Aye, Charge Shot. Aerials are the other main mode. I've caught so many people in the air and they just don't know how to respond to someone who's zoning them out with fairs, bairs, or even nairs. Up-Smash is actually good now. If you have someone (usually floaties) recovering from high and you have a good read on where they're going to land just smack down one of those because it covers so much area. Otherwise, if I am going to be late or am not sure where they're going to land I shoot out that grappling hook and throw them back off stage so we can repeat until they slip up.
 

relaxedexcorcist

Smash Ace
Joined
Sep 9, 2007
Messages
984
NNID
relaxed
3DS FC
4167-4486-3541
I must be doing something severely wrong if I haven't won a single yet. What moves do you get the most KOs off of? I usually get KOs on Up B and charge shot.
Charge shot, surprise screw attacks, f-smash and bair. Especially bair. That moves kills super good now and can wall of pain people who DI it bad. Dsmash also seems like a good option cause it sends at a nice horizontal angle, I can personally never land it though or end up Fsmashing out of habit. I don't actually like Usmash too much, because while it is definitely more reliable, I have still had instances of a character just falling out of it during the beginning or middle of it.
 

option.iv

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
57
Have you guys found applicable uses for U-tilt? It looked pretty effective when I was watching some wii-U footage of Samus, but lately, I have not seen anyone using it in 3DS footage I've been watching.
No, because uair is much better, and for those up forward angles, upward ftilt is decent, or a fair/nair.

As for missles, I don't jump cancel them, I just run pivot and use them. I find from that angle it covers more approaches. If you jump and shoot missles, people can just run under them.

Moves I get most KOs off of are uair, upb, fsmash, and charge shot. Her launch potential is really lacking.
 

TsuKiyoMe

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
281
Location
Sicklerville, NJ
Only use I've found for Up Tilt is that it hits people on platforms above you (it's the perfect height). If you sneak it in and they don't tech the meteor, it puts them at the exact height around 70~80 for Shine Spark (Custom Up B#3) to hit them, netting a kill.

Otherwise, nope.
 

SeanS

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Oct 7, 2014
Messages
213
I must be doing something severely wrong if I haven't won a single yet. What moves do you get the most KOs off of? I usually get KOs on Up B and charge shot.
If Up B is one of your most frequent methods of KO, you are playing incorrectly. Up B is best used (carefully) as a out-of-shield counter against people rushing you with aerials.

Charge shot is the main KO method, followed by fsmash, bair, and dair in order of importance (in my experience), BUT:

You need to know that it's not simply about pressing certain buttons with Samus. In order to play effectively, you must be able to mindgame your opponent to either create openings or get hard reads, as it is very easy for Samus to get punished for mistakes. For the charge shot, you must be absolutely certain that your opponent will not shield or dodge it; and, in the case of any other kill method, you must be absolutely certain that your opponent will land into its sweetspot. On top of that, you need to get your charge shot charged whenever possible so that you can put your opponent under pressure and / or surprise them (depending on their mindset), and you have to create distance between you and your opponent to do so.

Frankly, you are not picking the best character for easy wins. Even more frankly... no one here is either! But Samus is a character that, at least from what we know now, can be unexpectedly effective if you are such as a player.

Basically, don't expect to rush your opponent into corners and expect to carefully understand your opponents. Do so, and you will be set on a path to success with Samus.
 
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Usernameshane

Smash Rookie
Joined
Oct 6, 2014
Messages
3
If Up B is one of your most frequent methods of KO, you are playing incorrectly. Up B is best used (carefully) as a out-of-shield counter against people rushing you with aerials.

Charge shot is the main KO method, followed by fsmash, bair, and dair in order of importance (in my experience), BUT:

You need to know that it's not simply about pressing certain buttons with Samus. In order to play effectively, you must be able to mindgame your opponent to either create openings or get hard reads, as it is very easy for Samus to get punished for mistakes. For the charge shot, you must be absolutely certain that your opponent will not shield or dodge it; and, in the case of any other kill method, you must be absolutely certain that your opponent will land into its sweetspot. On top of that, you need to get your charge shot charged whenever possible so that you can put your opponent under pressure and / or surprise them (depending on their mindset), and you have to create distance between you and your opponent to do so.

Frankly, you are not picking the best character for easy wins. Even more frankly... no one here is either! But Samus is a character that, at least from what we know now, can be unexpectedly effective if you are such as a player.

Basically, don't expect to rush your opponent into corners and expect to carefully understand your opponents. Do so, and you will be set on a path to success with Samus.
Thanks man. I was 0-35 but that's to this board I won 18 matches last night. I'm definitely starting to understand what you mean about mindgaming opponents. What is Fsmash, is it the flamethrower that you can charge up? I am also landing a lot of KOs with Nair and Bair now. One more quick question, I seem to have a lot of trouble with Little Mac, Zelda and Yoshi any tips on how to play against them?


Edit: I was working on my Dair timing all day in training yesterday, it's definitely felt sweet to KO someone with it in a match yesterday. It's probably my favorite way to KO(although my timing is still bad and there's easier ways to KO people)
 
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Volt-Ikazuchi

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
356
Location
Brazil
Does Samus have any jump cancelable moves? I'm pretty sure almost no one does in this game, but it would be good to know if we're missing combo starters.
 

Otterz

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Aug 4, 2014
Messages
168
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Charlotte, NC
NNID
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I've been having a huge problem of getting juggled and getting back on stage safely. I'm fairly new to competitive Smash, I know almost all the terminology though, so tips even not related to Samus would help.
 

Volt-Ikazuchi

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
356
Location
Brazil
I've been having a huge problem of getting juggled and getting back on stage safely. I'm fairly new to competitive Smash, I know almost all the terminology though, so tips even not related to Samus would help.
I'm pretty sure someone asked a question like this last page, but ok.
There's not much to discuss about getting back to the stage. You can jump, Z-air, and Screw Attack. (Maybe Bomb Jump, but I don't know if that's still viable.) These three moves are the tools to actually get back on the stage.
If you got launched away from your opponent, recover as fast as possible. If it's still close, try to throw off his attacks and meteor smashes with some aerials, bombs and airdodges until you see a chance to get close enough to tether the ledge with Z-Air.
That's really all there's to it.
 

option.iv

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
57
Does Samus have any jump cancelable moves? I'm pretty sure almost no one does in this game, but it would be good to know if we're missing combo starters.
Not quite. But keep in mind she can jump out of shield like everyone else. Also note that she can cancel into shield from charge. So what I do to be most efficient is charge, then press shield and jump at the same time (R+X). With that, you effectively cancel into jump. This is very good against people who like to jump in on you while you're charging and you can properly anti air with your appropriate aerial. I never see any other Samus players do this and I believe this is necessary to play her at a higher level.

No real combo potential with this, but it keeps you mobile and more proactive. Use missles along with charge as a sort of feint or pressure tool to make the opponent jump. This is basically a Street Fighter fireball trap or zoning if you will.

Besides jumping out of shield, you can grab as well. So while charging, R+A at the same time to grab out of charge. Same applies to upsmash out of shield, upb out of shield, and spot dodge.

One more quick question, I seem to have a lot of trouble with Little Mac, Zelda and Yoshi any tips on how to play against them?
Played a little more of the Zelda matchup. It's not that bad. Yes she has reflect, but the key point is that it's a reactionary reflect and that it doesn't stay out as it's held. So what does this mean? You can punish a reflect. Make sure you have charge. Throw out a slow homing missile, if she reflects that, you can punish with charged shot. I get people all the time with this. This strategy works against Mario cape, slow rolls through the missile, and Ness absorb & fsmash to an extent. Now it's a different story against the likes of Fox.

As for Little Mac, I'm also having troubles. I have no idea what to do against the leaping punch attack. It goes over missles and often crosses up the shield. And I can't seem to punish it as LittleMac recovers fast enough to turn around and spam jabs. I still need to test if grab catches LittleMac during the leaping punch. Also thinking about the Leaping punch, maybe I should just camp the ledge. There's no way he'd be able to cross up because he'd risk falling over the edge. Also, his roll is either really fast to recover, or I've just had bad connections, because I keep getting tagged by roll into mashed jab. I'm trying to track the rolls too and punish with tilt. I have no problems against other chars doing this, but with LittleMac, I feel helpless.

Generally, I've been trying pivot f tilts, and pivot grabs. These are some of Samus' best tools since her roll is horrible. I've found them most effective against slower rolls, but faster rolls can pose a problem. Either I'm slow to react or the connection is bad, and the fast characters just dash attack me to death. And dash attacks that cross me up are what I have problems with as well. I don't know how to properly punish them, if that's possible.

Also been using dair to punish low dash attacks and grab attempts. It's decent, but I wish it had a larger and longer active hitbox.
 
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Savez

Smash Cadet
Joined
Feb 4, 2008
Messages
41
3DS FC
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Not quite. But keep in mind she can jump out of shield like everyone else. Also note that she can cancel into shield from charge. So what I do to be most efficient is charge, then press shield and jump at the same time (R+X). With that, you effectively cancel into jump. This is very good against people who like to jump in on you while you're charging and you can properly anti air with your appropriate aerial. I never see any other Samus players do this and I believe this is necessary to play her at a higher level.

No real combo potential with this, but it keeps you mobile and more proactive. Use missles along with charge as a sort of feint or pressure tool to make the opponent jump. This is basically a Street Fighter fireball trap or zoning if you will.

Besides jumping out of shield, you can grab as well. So while charging, R+A at the same time to grab out of charge. Same applies to upsmash out of shield, upb out of shield, and spot dodge.


Played a little more of the Zelda matchup. It's not that bad. Yes she has reflect, but the key point is that it's a reactionary reflect and that it doesn't stay out as it's held. So what does this mean? You can punish a reflect. Make sure you have charge. Throw out a slow homing missile, if she reflects that, you can punish with charged shot. I get people all the time with this. This strategy works against Mario cape, slow rolls through the missile, and Ness absorb & fsmash to an extent. Now it's a different story against the likes of Fox.

As for Little Mac, I'm also having troubles. I have no idea what to do against the leaping punch attack. It goes over missles and often crosses up the shield. And I can't seem to punish it as LittleMac recovers fast enough to turn around and spam jabs. I still need to test if grab catches LittleMac during the leaping punch. Also thinking about the Leaping punch, maybe I should just camp the ledge. There's no way he'd be able to cross up because he'd risk falling over the edge. Also, his roll is either really fast to recover, or I've just had bad connections, because I keep getting tagged by roll into mashed jab. I'm trying to track the rolls too and punish with tilt. I have no problems against other chars doing this, but with LittleMac, I feel helpless.

Generally, I've been trying pivot f tilts, and pivot grabs. These are some of Samus' best tools since her roll is horrible. I've found them most effective against slower rolls, but faster rolls can pose a problem. Either I'm slow to react or the connection is bad, and the fast characters just dash attack me to death. And dash attacks that cross me up are what I have problems with as well. I don't know how to properly punish them, if that's possible.

Also been using dair to punish low dash attacks and grab attempts. It's decent, but I wish it had a larger and longer active hitbox.
These are the same problems I have with LM so I'm guessing he's just THAT fast to recover from shield and stuff. The thing I hate the most is that the jab doesn't combo into itself which is pretty stupid if you ask me so most of the time I hit him once and he punishes me just for trying to do a 2combo-jab.

Also I can't connect her Nair at all. Bair, Fair, Dair and Uair are all fine but this new "thing" instead of the sex kick just feels wrong and I never hit with it. Any help?

For the match up I guess I need to try to space him up more with Zair and place some bombs here and there to stop him just dodgerolling into me.

When I get him in the air he just fastfalls down (which seems faster than other fastfalls) so I need to push him off the ledge but then if I fail to gimp him how should I edgeguard? Stay near the ledge and shield then react? Maybe a Dsmash if he rolls onto the stage? I ask this because I don't know how to get up from the ledge myself. I attack from it, he shields and punishes me, I roll he Dsmashes, I jump he Usmashes me. The only thing I think might work is let go of the ledge and Fair onto the stage.

Also for the approaches what should I use since DashAttack is a no-no? Or shoul I just let him come to me near the edge of the stage?

Anyway any advice for this matchup is of GREAT help!
 
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Volt-Ikazuchi

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
356
Location
Brazil
Not quite. But keep in mind she can jump out of shield like everyone else. Also note that she can cancel into shield from charge. So what I do to be most efficient is charge, then press shield and jump at the same time (R+X). With that, you effectively cancel into jump. This is very good against people who like to jump in on you while you're charging and you can properly anti air with your appropriate aerial. I never see any other Samus players do this and I believe this is necessary to play her at a higher level.

No real combo potential with this, but it keeps you mobile and more proactive. Use missles along with charge as a sort of feint or pressure tool to make the opponent jump. This is basically a Street Fighter fireball trap or zoning if you will.

Besides jumping out of shield, you can grab as well. So while charging, R+A at the same time to grab out of charge. Same applies to upsmash out of shield, upb out of shield, and spot dodge.


Played a little more of the Zelda matchup. It's not that bad. Yes she has reflect, but the key point is that it's a reactionary reflect and that it doesn't stay out as it's held. So what does this mean? You can punish a reflect. Make sure you have charge. Throw out a slow homing missile, if she reflects that, you can punish with charged shot. I get people all the time with this. This strategy works against Mario cape, slow rolls through the missile, and Ness absorb & fsmash to an extent. Now it's a different story against the likes of Fox.

As for Little Mac, I'm also having troubles. I have no idea what to do against the leaping punch attack. It goes over missles and often crosses up the shield. And I can't seem to punish it as LittleMac recovers fast enough to turn around and spam jabs. I still need to test if grab catches LittleMac during the leaping punch. Also thinking about the Leaping punch, maybe I should just camp the ledge. There's no way he'd be able to cross up because he'd risk falling over the edge. Also, his roll is either really fast to recover, or I've just had bad connections, because I keep getting tagged by roll into mashed jab. I'm trying to track the rolls too and punish with tilt. I have no problems against other chars doing this, but with LittleMac, I feel helpless.

Generally, I've been trying pivot f tilts, and pivot grabs. These are some of Samus' best tools since her roll is horrible. I've found them most effective against slower rolls, but faster rolls can pose a problem. Either I'm slow to react or the connection is bad, and the fast characters just dash attack me to death. And dash attacks that cross me up are what I have problems with as well. I don't know how to properly punish them, if that's possible.

Also been using dair to punish low dash attacks and grab attempts. It's decent, but I wish it had a larger and longer active hitbox.
Little Mac was designed to take on characters like Samus. Have you tried to Roll or Spot Dodge the Haymaker? It should at least avoid the shield damage if you can react to it.
Camping the ledge against Mac does take away some of his options, but don't forget he has insane knockback and Armor in lots of his moves, so it's very risky to take an early K.O. if you hang there too much.
You can try to punish cross-up rolls with D-Tilt or F-Tilt, Super Missile too for normal rolls, or you can go old school and use D-Smash to punish his rolls if he's close. Of course, aside from D-Smash, everything has to be predicted. You should try to make him stop rolling with mind games. You see him rolling too much, predict the roll and punish with a tilt or a grab. That will make him stop.
You can use F-Air to punish dash attacks and grabs. Much larger and longer active hitbox, not to mention that it might have less landing lag.
 

option.iv

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 3, 2014
Messages
57
You can try to punish cross-up rolls with D-Tilt or F-Tilt, Super Missile too for normal rolls, or you can go old school and use D-Smash to punish his rolls if he's close. Of course, aside from D-Smash, everything has to be predicted. You should try to make him stop rolling with mind games. You see him rolling too much, predict the roll and punish with a tilt or a grab. That will make him stop.
You can use F-Air to punish dash attacks and grabs. Much larger and longer active hitbox, not to mention that it might have less landing lag.
I'll have to admit, cross up dash attack and rolls are what kills me. For slow rolls, I'm fine punishing with a slow move like down smash. But for faster rolls, I get caught up in the guessing game of predicting roll or just straight up dash attack/dash attack-cancel grab. For characters like little mac, I feel like if I shield and they cross up, I don't have enough time to punish with tilt, because I have to turn then do the move. Jab jab is not an option since it doesn't combo. I have been having success though with short hop dair to punish though, as I usually can't be grabbed or dash attacked. So for now, I'm just leaning towards short hop dair against fast roll happy people or dashers. Though I would think the counter to this is a short hop by the opponent.

I just can't wait though for Wii U version when I can use the Gamecube controller, I just feel so limited by the 3ds controls. I can't upward or downward ftilt for the life of me and I often self-destruct getting side b instead of up b.
 

Volt-Ikazuchi

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
356
Location
Brazil
I'll have to admit, cross up dash attack and rolls are what kills me. For slow rolls, I'm fine punishing with a slow move like down smash. But for faster rolls, I get caught up in the guessing game of predicting roll or just straight up dash attack/dash attack-cancel grab. For characters like little mac, I feel like if I shield and they cross up, I don't have enough time to punish with tilt, because I have to turn then do the move. Jab jab is not an option since it doesn't combo. I have been having success though with short hop dair to punish though, as I usually can't be grabbed or dash attacked. So for now, I'm just leaning towards short hop dair against fast roll happy people or dashers. Though I would think the counter to this is a short hop by the opponent.

I just can't wait though for Wii U version when I can use the Gamecube controller, I just feel so limited by the 3ds controls. I can't upward or downward ftilt for the life of me and I often self-destruct getting side b instead of up b.
Well, that's kind of a problem. Try to jab once then shield or dodge or something. I can't believe the jab combo wasn't fixed yet.
Maybe Jab, Roll backwards, D-Tilt can help. I dunno.
Looks like a big flaw for Samus here. No way to punish except for Charge Beam and OOS options, unless I'm mistaken.
 

Oakwood

Smash Cadet
Joined
Aug 11, 2004
Messages
47
Location
New Jersey
I've had success camping the edge to disable mac's side-b and going for a grab into gimps. For shield crossups, I tend to just run away and try pivot grabs/ftilts/missiles and try to get to the other side of the stage. But I've only played for glory macs.
 

Onyx Leo

Smash Cadet
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
33
Location
New York
Hey there, I'm completely new to playing Samus and I need some help. After skimming through a few of these threads, I see that a lot of you keep bringing up her zair and spacing? How are you supposed to pull it off? It only ever seems to do 1-3% in damage, so it doesn't seem to be worth the lashing you'll take if you happen to whiff it. On top of that, I must absolutely suck at shorthopping into it because 80% of the time the beam just completely shoots over the character's head. What's the secret?
 

n00b

BRoomer
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Hey there, I'm completely new to playing Samus and I need some help. After skimming through a few of these threads, I see that a lot of you keep bringing up her zair and spacing? How are you supposed to pull it off? It only ever seems to do 1-3% in damage, so it doesn't seem to be worth the lashing you'll take if you happen to whiff it. On top of that, I must absolutely suck at shorthopping into it because 80% of the time the beam just completely shoots over the character's head. What's the secret?
The use of z-air is not to rack up damage, it's for controlling your opponent and keeping them at ranges that you can comfortably handle them. If you whiff, yes, you will be at a disadvantage. That is just part of the Samus gameplan, nothing she has is ever really free to spam. She's best at using her moves carefully, spaced perfectly, and in the right scenarios.

It's not just a matter of shorthopping, Samus has a very high shorthop anyway, and is floaty as well. She doesn't have a shorthop game in the traditional sense, especially if you're used to playing something like space animals in Melee. One suggestion I have is to start practicing jumping backwards, such that Samus goes into her tucked in animation. This lets you more easily visually confirm Samus's height off the ground when you throw out the z-air, and it also sort of shrinks your hurtbox/make you a smaller target, gives you the ability to DI/fade back if you need to retreat a little, lets you time/space nairs better, and lets you empty jump for mixups. Even when running forward I try to jump backwards then DI forward again for the reasons mentioned.

Also note that z-air doesn't have the knockback to be used upclose either, so if you successfully connect you are still unsafe, unfortunately. Keep practicing using the z-air as a zoning tool, taking away jumps, stopping aerial approaches, canceling projectile spam, as a punish into ftilt, or offstage gimps. Good luck, I hope this helps!
 

Volt-Ikazuchi

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
356
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Brazil
Hey there, I'm completely new to playing Samus and I need some help. After skimming through a few of these threads, I see that a lot of you keep bringing up her zair and spacing? How are you supposed to pull it off? It only ever seems to do 1-3% in damage, so it doesn't seem to be worth the lashing you'll take if you happen to whiff it. On top of that, I must absolutely suck at shorthopping into it because 80% of the time the beam just completely shoots over the character's head. What's the secret?
Z-Air is basically a zoning option that trades damage for range. Not only 3-4% rack up fast, the hitstun is important to interrupt dangerous moves without much priority, not to mention that it simply out-ranges them in most cases.
It's also important to note that Z-Air works at a distance where your stronger tilts, smashes and combo-starters doesn't without using reflectable projectiles so it is useful in many situations.
 

The TaBuu

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I was going to main Pikachu this time around for Sm4sh but I started playing around with Samus and she's tons of fun to play with.
She's difficult to learn and not easy to win with, which makes every win that much better.

So from the few matches I've used her in this is how I feel Samus plays with time around :

Samus has a strong projectile game with Strong Missile, Homing Missile and Charge Shot. All three can be utilized as shield pressure and force approaches while Charge Shot has the ability to KO at full charge.
With this in mind, Samus plays differently from many characters as she shouldn't always play "rush down". In fact, it's safer for Samus to play a "box out" game given her projectiles, z-air and long ranged ground moves (Ftilt in particular)
Samus has a punishing air game with a solid Nair and killing Bair. This allows Samus to get opponents off stage and chase them down with Nair and Bair and hopefully grab a KO. If not, Samus can recover safely, grab center stage and repeat the process
As mentioned Up-B OoS is something that should be used carefully as the misread can lead to a world of hurt for Samus.
 

Serris

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I feel like I'm playing a character with great spacing tools, good follow-ups, and a plethora of kill moves that make it a viable competitor. Then I stop playing pretend with the Mii Gunner and go back to the real Samus.
 

The TaBuu

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Samus has great spacing tools in Ftilt, Zair, and Nair/Bair. Her shield pressure game is phenomenal as well as missiles and Charge Shots can easily diminish shield sizes forcing the opponent to roll, approach or jump into the air.

I haven't played around with Samus for too long but I'm pretty sure that dash attack > uair > uair/up-b works pretty well.
Jab 2 is pretty trash on Samus as it has a low connect rate in conjunction with Jab 1. Jab 1 comes out super fast though (maybe a frame 1er) so things like Jab 1 > Dtilt / Dsmash / Fsmash / Grab are all viable options

When it comes to KOs, Samus has a few choice KO moves that are decently reliable. Her Usmash apparently KOs very well now while her sweetspotted Fsmash can KO effectively as well. Charge Shot is a great way to KO opponent but it takes a bit of conditioning and reading to land this one.
Her other KO methods stem from her aerial moveset. Her Bair kills very well especially near the ends of a stage. Nair can accomplish the job but at higher percents when compared to Bair. Uair is a solid KO move near the ceilings of the stages and Up-B can also do the same but is much more risky. It's also pretty neat that Samus has a spike in Dair.
 

Volt-Ikazuchi

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
356
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Samus has great spacing tools in Ftilt, Zair, and Nair/Bair. Her shield pressure game is phenomenal as well as missiles and Charge Shots can easily diminish shield sizes forcing the opponent to roll, approach or jump into the air.

I haven't played around with Samus for too long but I'm pretty sure that dash attack > uair > uair/up-b works pretty well.
Jab 2 is pretty trash on Samus as it has a low connect rate in conjunction with Jab 1. Jab 1 comes out super fast though (maybe a frame 1er) so things like Jab 1 > Dtilt / Dsmash / Fsmash / Grab are all viable options

When it comes to KOs, Samus has a few choice KO moves that are decently reliable. Her Usmash apparently KOs very well now while her sweetspotted Fsmash can KO effectively as well. Charge Shot is a great way to KO opponent but it takes a bit of conditioning and reading to land this one.
Her other KO methods stem from her aerial moveset. Her Bair kills very well especially near the ends of a stage. Nair can accomplish the job but at higher percents when compared to Bair. Uair is a solid KO move near the ceilings of the stages and Up-B can also do the same but is much more risky. It's also pretty neat that Samus has a spike in Dair.
Since you seem to be testing combos, can you see if you can combo something into a charged shot and if Screw Attack has enough KO potential to be worth the risk of comboing into it?
 

The TaBuu

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Since you seem to be testing combos, can you see if you can combo something into a charged shot and if Screw Attack has enough KO potential to be worth the risk of comboing into it?
Well there's a thread regarding Samus' KO percentages and so I'll just quote what Otterz wrote :

"Up-B kills Mario at 160% if you use it when both grounded, it kills at 135% if you use it at mario's single jump height. Of course killing percentages for moves like this don't mean that much from this low, as you'll probably never try to kill with them here.

Upthrow -> Up-B kills starting at 86% (so 95% if you include the damage the upthrow deals), but of course that highly depends on how your opponents responds after the upthrow. The training dummy dodges, so you actually catch him a bit lower than the height of your up-throw. It also seems like Up-B has more knockback the more you manage to get your opponent to the center of it as the last hit lands, so keep trying to steer into your opponent when using it.
"

"Uair: ~155% (entire move, but only last hit has knockback)"

So in all honesty Up-B seems to KO faster. But if the situation presents itself and you're near the top of the stage I'd op for Uair over Up-B 90% of the time. Up-B is seriously a risk vs reward move so I'd only recommend this move if you can read the opponent. For example Up-throw into Up-B will work if you know that the opponent has a habit of air dodging as you jump up. So just bait the air dodge with your first jump and then launch up-b on the second jump for a KO

I personally do not know if anything combos into charge shot. But the general idea for a charge shot combo could be punishing an opponent for a missed tech. So things like Utilt or Dash attack into charge shot may work if the opponent fails to tech.
 

andilex

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been trying to get spacing down with Samus, a lot of times I do extremely well in for glory,but the opponent gets to a high percent I Break down by not being able able to KO them.

so I decided to play patiently and zone with Z air missiles, charge shot.
the charge shot/shield jump jump cancel is fun to do.

also I noticed Samus can cancel her run run with charge b,
then just jump cancel it.

another thing I'm trying to utilize is her bombs.
while charging her b, and short hopping out of shield. u can down b. To form like a small mine inform of her. To stop opponent from rushing down. and u can grab them if they're hit or b.


live even broken someone's shield by almost fully charging her shot, then jump cancel to down b, then land and b.

then run into the bomb and block it, then block the shot.
it severely weakens the shield.

also got ***** by a Mario,
his fire balls **** Samus, the angle from them messes up Samus.
especially if they are short hopped.

also against rolling spammers, what can Samus do, I feel overwhelmed when that hapens. she's to slow to catch them. I'll grab it'll miss,I'll down smash... too slow and I'll get grabbed.

also
charge shot/shield , jump cancel backwards to where she spins in a ball, then missle, shot, z air. is very useful.
and down b instead after the short hop jump cancel. To plan a mine.

I remember Sakurai said she was the strongest character.... but sadly I don't think I should belive him anymore.
been trying to find some kinda abusable tech, or strategy with her.

anyone? thoughts about what I said? much appreciated

message me if u want to play some matches online
 

Volt-Ikazuchi

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Well there's a thread regarding Samus' KO percentages and so I'll just quote what Otterz wrote :

"Up-B kills Mario at 160% if you use it when both grounded, it kills at 135% if you use it at mario's single jump height. Of course killing percentages for moves like this don't mean that much from this low, as you'll probably never try to kill with them here.

Upthrow -> Up-B kills starting at 86% (so 95% if you include the damage the upthrow deals), but of course that highly depends on how your opponents responds after the upthrow. The training dummy dodges, so you actually catch him a bit lower than the height of your up-throw. It also seems like Up-B has more knockback the more you manage to get your opponent to the center of it as the last hit lands, so keep trying to steer into your opponent when using it.
"

"Uair: ~155% (entire move, but only last hit has knockback)"

So in all honesty Up-B seems to KO faster. But if the situation presents itself and you're near the top of the stage I'd op for Uair over Up-B 90% of the time. Up-B is seriously a risk vs reward move so I'd only recommend this move if you can read the opponent. For example Up-throw into Up-B will work if you know that the opponent has a habit of air dodging as you jump up. So just bait the air dodge with your first jump and then launch up-b on the second jump for a KO

I personally do not know if anything combos into charge shot. But the general idea for a charge shot combo could be punishing an opponent for a missed tech. So things like Utilt or Dash attack into charge shot may work if the opponent fails to tech.
My bad, didn't notice that particular thread.

When I wrote about comboing into Screw Attack I was thinking something like U-Air into Up-B killing at a certain percentage.
And my general idea for comboing a Charged Beam was actually using it outside of punishing so players don't try to bait Samus players all day to force them to waste their charge. Something that actually puts the opponent in hitstun enough to leave them without enough time to react. Something like Jab1 -> point-blank shot in the face.

Thanks for the info. That's useful data.

been trying to get spacing down with Samus, a lot of times I do extremely well in for glory,but the opponent gets to a high percent I Break down by not being able able to KO them.

so I decided to play patiently and zone with Z air missiles, charge shot.
the charge shot/shield jump jump cancel is fun to do.

also I noticed Samus can cancel her run run with charge b,
then just jump cancel it.

another thing I'm trying to utilize is her bombs.
while charging her b, and short hopping out of shield. u can down b. To form like a small mine inform of her. To stop opponent from rushing down. and u can grab them if they're hit or b.


live even broken someone's shield by almost fully charging her shot, then jump cancel to down b, then land and b.

then run into the bomb and block it, then block the shot.
it severely weakens the shield.

also got ***** by a Mario,
his fire balls **** Samus, the angle from them messes up Samus.
especially if they are short hopped.

also against rolling spammers, what can Samus do, I feel overwhelmed when that hapens. she's to slow to catch them. I'll grab it'll miss,I'll down smash... too slow and I'll get grabbed.

also
charge shot/shield , jump cancel backwards to where she spins in a ball, then missle, shot, z air. is very useful.
and down b instead after the short hop jump cancel. To plan a mine.

I remember Sakurai said she was the strongest character.... but sadly I don't think I should belive him anymore.
been trying to find some kinda abusable tech, or strategy with her.

anyone? thoughts about what I said? much appreciated

message me if u want to play some matches online
Looks like you already have a solid zoning game. The catch to always having KO power is to always have a charged shot. Charge Beam is one of Samus best killing moves since 64, and the mindgames you can play just because you can quickly punish an opponent's mistake easily disrupt their gameplay.

Against rolling opponents, Samus really doesn't have many punish options. Since you're getting grabbed a lot, try to short hop N-air or B-air. This should at least stop rampant grabbing.

Against Mario's air Fireballs, you can punish him with your aerials. Samus have great aerials and F-Air should be able to control space where Z-Air's not helping much. Not to mention you have better projectiles to out-zone him.

Never trust Sakurai.
 
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andilex

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I'm actually interested in any combos that involve landing charge shot ,
also I always go for down throw, any other uses for other throws?

does Samus have any safe aerials so she won't be grabbed?
I've seen opponents bait me with aerials, that are basically safe on block. they can follow up with jab.
like is dair safe?
 
Last edited:

Volt-Ikazuchi

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I'm actually interested in any combos that involve landing charge shot ,
also I always go for down throw, any other uses for other throws?

does Samus have any safe aerials so she won't be grabbed?
I've seen opponents bait me with aerials, that are basically safe on block. they can follow up with jab.
like is dair safe?
Other throws mainly work to give you some space for when you can't follow up D-throw too well anymore.

F-Air is pretty safe vs OOS grabs if you hit with the flames. Other auto-cancelable aerials that don't leave you in OOS grab range are good too. I think B-Air works in this case. Obviously they're not so safe on whiff though.

Which characters can bait with aerials and follow up with jab? Unless they outrange your jab, you can probably do it too. Just don't get the second jab.

I dunno if the frame data for D-air changed from Brawl. If it's still a high priority move it's probably safe on clash, and while it isn't safe, it's not like you whiffed a pivot grab. I'd say it's pretty average.
 

Sarix

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I'm actually interested in any combos that involve landing charge shot ,
also I always go for down throw, any other uses for other throws?

does Samus have any safe aerials so she won't be grabbed?
I've seen opponents bait me with aerials, that are basically safe on block. they can follow up with jab.
like is dair safe?
Zair > Charge Shot still works as a kill set up from mid range.

If you mean for approaching, Samus shouldn't rely on her air game since her average landing lag took a nasty nerf (went from 9 to 19) and combined with her floatiness her air-to-ground transition is pretty rough in this game. Her Bair still seems relatively safe on block but overall Samus's air game is best for following up her ground launchers that set up combos.
 

andilex

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idk if anyone knew this,but if u stay still and shoot the missle it's the fast one.

and if u slightly tap forward, like a tilt, you get the slow missle
 

TheTuninator

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Samus' jab not comboing into its second hit is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen in Smash. What the hell was Sakurai thinking? That's either willful stupidity or complete incompetence on the part of the dev team.
 

The Seventh One

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Samus' jab not comboing into its second hit is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen in Smash. What the hell was Sakurai thinking? That's either willful stupidity or complete incompetence on the part of the dev team.
I think the dev team really hates Samus. They don't want to build on her and they probably just skimmed over her.
 

pinkdeaf1

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I think the dev team really hates Samus. They don't want to build on her and they probably just skimmed over her.
Then we make Samus the best by besting all nintendo-run tourneys just to spit in their face for attempting, through willful neglect, to wreck a character we would never abandon.
 

BRoomer
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but... it does combo. just not at low percents. its a solid get off me jab it could be better though.

Honestly I think it is an inside joke or something at this point it been like that in every game I can think of so far.
 

pinkdeaf1

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but... it does combo. just not at low percents. its a solid get off me jab it could be better though.

Honestly I think it is an inside joke or something at this point it been like that in every game I can think of so far.
I guess. Crouch canceling wrecked that move so hard.

By the by, have other people been using up-air to transition from air-to-ground combos, or simply for hitting grounded opponents?
 

Volt-Ikazuchi

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but... it does combo. just not at low percents. its a solid get off me jab it could be better though.

Honestly I think it is an inside joke or something at this point it been like that in every game I can think of so far.
How does it combo? I've never managed to reliably combo that since Smash 64.
 

The TaBuu

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Samus is so damn hard to learn hahaha. Her aerial game is so strange and its difficult to implement sometimes. She's awkwardly tall and unusually floaty making FF aerials a bit of a challenge sometimes.
However I'm willing to keep pushing with Samus and see what works.
Dtilt has good range and its launch ability provides Samus with interesting set-up opportunities. Ftilt is also a favorite of mine considering her long limbs allow Samus to push opponents out. Nair is so weird on stage but off stage is shines well, as does Bair.
Charge Shot is consistent in terms of damage output and KO potential.
 
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