Scan Visor: The Samus Critique Thread (Current Critique: ???)

[Xyro77]

Play on the ledge more. thats a critique i have for everybody

 

[KillerJawz]

Play on the ledge more. thats a critique i have for everybody

I play on the ledge too much ;___;

 

[ZeroL]

Tommorow I'll be playing the best Ganon in the Netherlands and probably the best in Europe. I'll upload a set so you guys can critique it =).

 

[NO-IDea]

Play on the ledge more. thats a critique i have for everybody

"A quick way to improve your chances of victory against inexperienced players and/or incapable characters."

You want to really get better overall? Learn to play smarter. The characters/players that know how to beat a planking Samus are the players you're trying to beat to place top 8. You want to use Samus? Leave your inhibitions behind and use your weaknesses as strengths.

And on that note, it's okay to plank sometimes. But some of you guys are just doing it wrong.

 

[Zodiac]

Well, Im really happy with what Im seeing so far XD. I'll copy and paste my previous post below.

Hey guys its been a little while since I played samus, or really cared about brawl for that matter but I've decided im coming back to brawl and going largely Samus. So here is a vid of my samus, more to come soon. Any critiques are appreciated.

ZodiacMofat(Samus) Vs Msf2k(Meta Knight)
If I remember correctly this is from 2 months ago when I last played Samus seriously.

 

[NO-IDea]

ZodiacMofat(Samus) Vs Msf2k(Meta Knight)

I'm going to list the critique by priority. If you want to improve, focus on the first three in your future matches and just keep note of everything else.

[collapse=1) Z-air Spacing:]Z-air is Samus's cookie cutter move. But, I'm glad that you're a step above most other Samus mains in that you use z-air in equal amount with all your other attacks. Meaning as far as the stale move counter goes, you are using z-air's damage to the fullest, as an additional 4-7% on top of all your other moves, rather than considering z-air as stand alone. If you were to look at Samus' moveset, then add 4% to all her attacks, it would be very impressive. Imagine adding 7%!

So work on using z-air as:
A)A zoning tool. Every other Samus main does that by now, but many abuse it. Try not to, or you won't find yourself improving once you find players who take advantage of shielding. I don't want you adopting this behavior. It's highly predictable and punishable.

B) Use it as a follow-up. At 0:57, it could have been spaced better for both safety and to get that extra 3%. At 1:02, you were too close and the MK was above you. The z-air wasn't necessary. At 1:15, you z-aired him in the face for 4%. That could have been a f-air for 14-18%, followed up by a z-air for 4-7% more. That's more than quadruple the damage.

C) As a defensive tool. I'm not going to focus too much on this, but here's one example. 0:48, you get out of MK's f-tilt, and as he's charging his f-smash, that's your time to space a reactionary z-air for 7%. [/collapse]

[collapse=2) Dash Attack Spacing:]I encourage your playstyle. But you need to work on reflexes and, therefore, situational recognition. I'm going to use specific examples for this:

0:27 - You used the strong hitbox of dash attack at low percent. Follow-up with pivot grab! 99% of the time, players respond by shielding or spot dodging your next move. Pivot grab takes advantage of both responses, because the timing and unpredictability of it is absurd. It also makes you look good, offering a psychological impact early into the match. No one wants to play someone who knows how to pull off crazy things.

0:50 - Intentionally or not, you used the 2nd, weaker hitbox of dash attack. At mid percents using the weak hitbox of dash attack, the best follow-up to this is usually up+b. It's guaranteed because of their landing lag.

1:44 - Again, 2nd hitbox of dash attack at mid percent. You followed this up with d-tilt. I'm going to suggest you don't use d-tilt as a follow-up for dash attack. One reason because it's highly dependent on where they land, and d-tilt has punishable lag. The other reason is because d-tilt kills MK relatively early and should be one of your kill moves. Refrain from staling it. Stick with using up+b.

A different, clever follow-up option in this scenario is d-smash. It's slightly slower than d-tilt, but does more damage, covers both sides and gives you the option to change the timing by charging it. It's an intimidating mind game. This is more useful against less confident players or players you've begun to intimidate half way through the match. However, like all mind games, it's not guaranteed.

2:21 - You used the strong hitbox of dash attack at LOW percent WHILE they were in the air. This is one of the worst scenarios to be in while using this move. Nearly every character has an aerial fast enough to punish.

But, not every player has reflexes fast enough to react, especially if they're inexperienced in the MU. And it's not as if you expected them to be in jumping animation as you performed the dash attack, right? When you're put in this situation, follow-up with shield->up+B OoS. It covers all of their options when they're too slow.

On a side note, refrain from using dash attack at low percents when you're at killing range. Not worth the risk, and it's really bad for the match if you lose a stock to a responding n-air/b-air that you set-up yourself.

2:33 - You used the strong hitbox of dash attack at mid percent. Players have 3 responses usually: air dodge back onto the ground, throw out an attack, or double jump away. Your mistake was attempting to follow-up immediately (with b-air too, a move that takes a bit to come out. Any of their responses would have made your b-air miss.)

You need to learn how to wait and see what their response is. Therefore, shield when using the strong hitbox of dash attack at mid percent. 1) If they air dodge, you can follow-up with standing grab, dash grab or pivot grab depending on how close or far they are. 2) If they respond with an aerial (in this case MK did d-air), keep your shield up and the punish with grab if they land far, or punish with d-smash if they land close. 3) If they double jump, you can respond with up+b OoS.

You have an aggressive playstyle. You just need to complement that with smarter options and KNOW how to follow-up. That is what brawl is all about. There are no combos. It's just one game of chess with an opponent, or 500 games of RPS.

And as a final note, learn to consciously control your spacing. With z-air, you should focus on aiming for 7% and higher knockback. For dash attack, it's a bit harder because it involves timing and spacing. Learn when to utilize the strong and weak hitboxes and at what percents.[/collapse]

[collapse=3)F-air canceling:]Again, this goes back to reflexes and situational recognition. I'll use specific examples.

0:46 - Let me start by saying this is highly situational. The platform is saving you. Under normal conditions, you only f-air back onto stage when they're grounded and at low percent or if you know they're going to shield. If they're in the air at low percent, they can punish with a falling aerial. (The reason you weren't punished was because of the platform.) If they're grounded at high percent, they can SDI the first hit and punish with falling n-air. If they're shielding, f-air to provide some shield pressure/weaken it, then DI back onto the ledge. This will in turn provide you with more options on your next recovery attempt.

Now then, if you're using f-air while recovering onto the stage and the circumstances are right, fast fall the f-air to cancel it and watch how they SDI. If they're SDIing up, follow-up your f-air cancel with up+b. If they're SDIing in or away, follow-up with d-smash. Both off these are guaranteed because of landing lag. And both can deal 15-20% total.

1:04 Do you remember when I said using dash attack at low percent while they're in the air is possibly the worst scenario for that move? The same applies to f-air. You don't want them to have enough room from the ground to use an aerial and punish your hitlag. If you do find yourself in this situation, follow the same guideline: shield and up+b OoS if they're too slow to react. Your aim is to get out.

1:17 Learn to space it better! Remember the the initial hitbox for f-air aims diagonally up. If you wanted to approach someone with f-air, you need to use it earlier and give time for the other hitboxes to come out. This is why f-air is more often used while retreating rather than approaching. You can still approach, but just watch where your hitboxes are.

1:20 F-air canceling on grounded opponents at high percents can be a kill set-up, better than u-air canceling because of how they're spaced at the end of the cancel (directly in front of you instead of on you). The first hit of f-air has the second highest knockback (the last hit has the highest.) Any connection with the middle hitboxes of f-air however have just enough to lift them off the ground without sending them far, meaning you can punish landing lag. In this scenario, follow-up with a buffered d-tilt or buffered f-smash tilted up. An MK would have died at 136% by either.

2:56 One of the rare times you used f-air in the air. Sometimes, you won't always be able to connect with all hitboxes. In times like these, DI back. You don't want to put yourself in a position where the opponent is behind you. Always leave grab OoS as an option (you have to drop your shield to grab if they're behind.)

Work on your f-air more. There were plenty of times where you could have used it. 0:29, while MK was on the top platform could have been a good 13-18%, followed up by z-air for 4-7%. 1:42 again, while MK is on the platform shielding, use f-air to shield poke. At its worst, the move is safe since you can DI back. Any instance where they're diagonally above you, use it![/collapse]

[collapse=Other areas of critique:]Not going in-depth, just listing them off:

Missile Canceling and its follow-ups (you need to use this more)
Jab Canceling and its follow-ups(don't ever use the second hit of jab)
Incorporating your grab and d-throw follow-ups
When/how to use d-air/u-air while above opponent
Recovery spacing off-stage (especially against MK)
Utilizing invulnerability frames (d-air from the ledge can't take advantage of this)
Buffering (0:38 u-smashes? 0:44 b-reversals?)
Recovery mix-ups (u-air should be used for shield poking from beneath, not to recover onto the stage, z-air should be used, f-air in certain conditions, get-up attack, jump, the standard get up, roll. You don't vary enough)[/collapse]

Notice that the top three suggestions for improvement for you focus on specializing your aggressive playstyle. Remember, the key to playing offensive is to punish landing lag and shield habits. Each "combo" you land should be averaging to around 18%. Add z-air harassment and projectiles and suddenly that number jumps to 22-28%. Where Samus lacks in killing potential, she shines with high output.

Depending on your next performance, I'll either focus more on offense or start critiquing your other areas.

Good job and hope to see more vids from you.

 

[Zodiac]

This is all good stuff I'll study and apply, I'll admit I didnt really put my all into samus before, I just figured out things on my own. Thanks for critiquing me. I'll post more vids next week

 

[Jalen]

I have some videos and was wondering if you guys could critique them.

Jalen (Samus) vs Draco (Marth)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1JGuky2s9s

Jalen (Samus) vs Hyper (Yoshi)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcebIold3TM

Jalen (Samus) vs Jorgeme (Marth)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wdv1SOwtFo

Jalen (Samus) vs. Fox (Mace)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJPj6NNZYdo

Jalen (Samus) vs. H1N1 (Ganondorf)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6FT92BMsu0

All on Wi-Fail btw so if I look like I mess up sometimes, you know why.

 

[NO-IDea]

Wi-fi is hard to critique. Do you have any offline vids?

 

[Jalen]

Wi-fi is hard to critique. Do you have any offline vids?

Not right now. I'll try to get some.

 

[ZeroL]

I don't really have much to say, your Samus is doing good. But there still were a few points you need to work on:

- Dair. You sometimes just randomly dair at your opponent, which is not a good idea against MK. You should really only dair if you are a 100% sure it's going to hit.
- Auto-Pilot. You seem to be at auto-pilot at some times, for example when the MK was charging his fsmash at the edge you just jumped into it with a fair in the hope you would be quicker than him. It's best to just wait sometimes and then attack. Getting rid of auto-pilot takes some time but you'll notice how you're improving allot faster without auto-pilot.
- Keep thinking. This goes allong with the auto-pilot thing. The second you stop thinking about the match is the second you have lost.
- Camping. What I saw was that you don't camp as much as needed versus MK, good MK's will beat you badly if you don't camp.

Other than that I don't have much to say, just keep playing!

EDIT: This is for Zodiac, not for Jalen.

 

[Jalen]

I don't really have much to say, your Samus is doing good. But there still were a few points you need to work on:

- Dair. You sometimes just randomly dair at your opponent, which is not a good idea against MK. You should really only dair if you are a 100% sure it's going to hit.
- Auto-Pilot. You seem to be at auto-pilot at some times, for example when the MK was charging his fsmash at the edge you just jumped into it with a fair in the hope you would be quicker than him. It's best to just wait sometimes and then attack. Getting rid of auto-pilot takes some time but you'll notice how you're improving allot faster without auto-pilot.
- Keep thinking. This goes allong with the auto-pilot thing. The second you stop thinking about the match is the second you have lost.
- Camping. What I saw was that you don't camp as much as needed versus MK, good MK's will beat you badly if you don't camp.

Other than that I don't have much to say, just keep playing!

EDIT: This is for Zodiac, not for Jalen.

Oh ok. Nvm.
XP

 

[Jalen]

New video.

Jalen (Samus) vs Zenith (Falco)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIJ_lCejIt4&playnext_from=TL&videos=YopIiwFDZ8Q&feature=sub

 

[ZeroL]

Is it an offline match ?

Nvm, but please. Upload an offline match. That way we can really give you some good critique.

 

[Jalen]

Is it an offline match ?

Nvm, but please. Upload an offline match. That way we can really give you some good critique.

Alright. I'll try.

 

[Zodiac]

When you come off the ledge with the fair and land behind them, follow up with an fsmash if you have time and range. or a ftilt, and if their damage is to low to get them gimped you might want to consider dsmash. And if they jump oos like that and go to high you can uair them cause samus's uair is beast and can go through a lot of dair's just by sheer range.

and I didnt see a lot of gimping with the nair. actually none. it can be done, buts its very situational. If you can nair his phantasm then do it and prepare to tether regrab the ledge to dair his recovery after that, or just tether edge hog him.

side note- Maybe some new matches for me tomorrow. But last time I played was friday and I couldn't record then.

 

[ZeroL]

Critique time =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6-9ZSbSheU&feature=player_embedded
ZeroL vs Ramz

It is an old match, but I play a bit the same. Only improved DI and combos etc.

 

[LanceStern]

NOID did I ever mention how much I appreciate your comments. They are well-thought out AND easy to read. Plus nice on the eyes.

To Zodiac: I am loving that agressive style you have. If there's just one or two things I could mention that NOID hasn't is to punish a little more with Up-B either out of shield or when he's in your face. It's quick and it starts to frustrate your opponent to no end.

That and know your KO percentages. You definitely don't want to be predictable, but after 120% you can dtilt and send MK crying home to his mom. It breaks the tornado too.

Plus you ever consider tether canceling for ledge mixups?

 

[KillerJawz]

Okay, heres that critique I promised you Zaad.

Your ledge game:

When a Falcon is off stage, he has two ways to recover effectivly, these are UpB and SideB, now, each of these have a lot of start up lag and pretty poor range in their respective areas. Whilst SideB may be a decent semi spike, you should not feel afraid to punish it with zairs and missles, instead of waiting on the edge, then using a dair like it's melee. Everytime you tried to punish a UpB or SideB at the start of the match, you missed it, EVERY time. When Falcon is recovering with his UpB you can just as easily retether the ledge (something which you NEVER do, get into the habit of it, it's free invincibility.....) and gimp him like that. You can guard the edge well with other moves besides dair such as zair, missles, nair (if your IsmaR), uair and obviously, the retether, I would honestly just throw some zairs in Falcon's face, he really can't do anything about this move off stage, it REALLY restricts him. Your use of dair is FAR too much, you use the unforgivable combo far to much (Jab > Dair) and I could see from a mile away every time you were about to dair, it has ALOT of startup lag, has pretty poor priority and tbh, isn't as safe as one might make out.

Shield Pressure:

There was none, why? You kept trying to dair and nair the Falcon's shield, you should never do this, under any circumstances, granted, dair causes the opponent to slide, but not enough where you're going to avoid any kind of punishment and tbh, you should just not bother with moves that have such a large frame disadvantage on shields. Fast falled uairs and zairs work WONDERS on a Falcon's shield, especially since he has pretty poor range in general and punishing a Samus with good spacing is particularly hard to do.

Frame Traps:

I loved your use of FF'ed uair to upb, but at times you used uair to fsmash, even when there was no way on earth it could have possibly hit the Falcon. You would be wasting one of your best kill moves, AND getting punished for it.

Punishment:

You really REALLY need to work on your punishing game. I saw times where a simple UpB OoS would have broken down any form of approach the Falcon had and given you time to charge up your CS, which by the way, you hardly EVER did. You need to think about using your tilts OoS, especially ftilt for punishing those sloppy nairs and dairs on your shield, or just generally when Falcon approaches since our ftilt out ranges his, and since Falcon's priority is really poor, we can easily just beat out his approaches with simple uairs OoS. Also stop using Fair. Seriously. You RARELY used zair, which as we all know, is UNACCEPTABLE. Falcon can really only power shield zair, and if you improve your spacing, you can avoid getting punished for it, AND get back onto the ledge, where you know, fair is actually appropriate.

General Stuff:

Work on your missile cancelling. Don't EVER ground missile, it's got the ending lag of the devil's spawn, it's just terrible. Homing missile > running grab is SUPERB against Falcon, if he spot dodges, he'll get hit by the missile, if he shield's, he'll get grabbed, it's a beautiful setup. I love your tech skill btw, something which I myself have to work on. Oh and one more thing..

WHY THE **** ARE YOU ROLLING? *RAGEQUIT*

Overall, you could have done better and Ramz did get really sloppy at the end there, it could have been his win. Hope this was good enough for you.

 

[Xyro77]

Zaad, check out my video of me vs royr in the samus video thread. It shows u some things u can do thats right and of course things that u shouldnt

 

[Grizzer]

@ killerjawz, ZAAD doesnt do edgehogging in friendlies and especially against falcon

 

[KillerJawz]

Your point being?

 

[Grizzer]

Your point being?

you said he needed to ledgedrop Zair for extra invincibility for edgehogging but he doesnt want to do that.

every time i edgehog him in friendlies he ragequits -.-

 

[KillerJawz]

He NEEDS to do that, and it's called retethering. It destroys Falcon.

 

[Grizzer]

He NEEDS to do that, and it's called retethering. It destroys Falcon.

i was just trying to explain WHY he didnt do it cause he is perfectly able to

 

[KillerJawz]

Then why did you call me on that then?

 

[Grizzer]

just to make sure that you know he didnt not do it because he did not know how to do it or did not know he needed to do it
if i make any sense

 

[KillerJawz]

None at all. We shall end this discussion here.

 

[DtJ Composer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcyZ_RRCPDQ
:3

Spoiler

Be gentle!

 

[Xyro77]

it took u 2min 11 seconds to get a charge shot ready and once u shot it u never charged up another one again..........please dont do that. ALWAYS have a tasty CS ready to go at all times.