Just putting this out here for anyone who hasn't noticed -- shield pressure is one of the biggest changes to this game. This is a general buff to heavyweights, and a liability for any character with a below-average shield size.
Everyone should probably take note of how much damage your character's moves are doing to shields. This is most noticeable with pretty much any heavyweight character. Around 2 consecutive blocked smash attacks from MOST heavyweights /power hitters will result in a shield break, and if from a heavyweight, that's almost guaranteed a stock. But this is also an inherent buff to many zoners in this game, specifically Samus/Dark Samus, and also Zelda to a lesser extent.
The counter to this concept is that mobility is at an all-time high so players probably wont need to block as much as in Smash 4. But regardless, this is significant because it allows you to remove potential defensive options from your opponent to open them up offensively.
Just a few examples:
-- blocked Fair/Jab > Shield breaker can result in an instant shield pop.
-- If you make them block pretty much anything that isn't a jab before using SideB, their shield will probably break.
-- Making an opponent block Super Missile while you have a Charge Shot stocked will result in them being forced to sidestep/roll the charge shot, as it will result in a shield break.
- Blocked Usmash is safe with spacing sometimes and generally doesn't result in that bad of a punish, but it provides AMAZING shield pressure. Wizard Kick is capable of breaking shields.
-- SideB spindash deals noticeable shield damage, as does full-charged Neutral B, an unpredictable attack that people typically try to shield because it comes out so fast. But the longer you hold it, the more shield damage it causes. (Plus it can kill)
-- Just mash, it's bound to happen at some point.
-- Blocking Flamethrower up close now wears down the shield a very considerable amount which puts them in danger of a popped shield if they block the wrong move soon after.
There are tons of situations like this in the game, i haven't done too much research or practice on it but if you just play around with the concept...with a little strategy i'm absolutely certain you're going to pop someone's shield in the next few matches.
Also note that while these situations require them to block consecutively in short amounts of time, many of these moves reduce the shield to a very small size which allows for shield pokes. The shield doesn't have to break for it to successfully add pressure for you.
This would have been more in line with "theorycrafting" in Smash4, but i've been putting this to use in actual matches with pretty decent results. Give it a shot guys.
- Shield damage is noticeably higher on almost all moves
- Perfect Shielding is gone, meaning that ALL non-parried attacks now deal valuable shield damage. This notably includes projectiles.
- It's more viable in general for moves to be blocked
- Higher shield damage in general means setting up an opponent to get popped by an actual break move is much easier
- Evasion frames decay in Ultimate, meaning that at some point dodging is less beneficial than blocking.
Everyone should probably take note of how much damage your character's moves are doing to shields. This is most noticeable with pretty much any heavyweight character. Around 2 consecutive blocked smash attacks from MOST heavyweights /power hitters will result in a shield break, and if from a heavyweight, that's almost guaranteed a stock. But this is also an inherent buff to many zoners in this game, specifically Samus/Dark Samus, and also Zelda to a lesser extent.
The counter to this concept is that mobility is at an all-time high so players probably wont need to block as much as in Smash 4. But regardless, this is significant because it allows you to remove potential defensive options from your opponent to open them up offensively.
Just a few examples:
-- blocked Fair/Jab > Shield breaker can result in an instant shield pop.-- If you make them block pretty much anything that isn't a jab before using SideB, their shield will probably break. -- Making an opponent block Super Missile while you have a Charge Shot stocked will result in them being forced to sidestep/roll the charge shot, as it will result in a shield break.- Blocked Usmash is safe with spacing sometimes and generally doesn't result in that bad of a punish, but it provides AMAZING shield pressure. Wizard Kick is capable of breaking shields.-- SideB spindash deals noticeable shield damage, as does full-charged Neutral B, an unpredictable attack that people typically try to shield because it comes out so fast. But the longer you hold it, the more shield damage it causes. (Plus it can kill) -- Just mash, it's bound to happen at some point. -- Blocking Flamethrower up close now wears down the shield a very considerable amount which puts them in danger of a popped shield if they block the wrong move soon after.There are tons of situations like this in the game, i haven't done too much research or practice on it but if you just play around with the concept...with a little strategy i'm absolutely certain you're going to pop someone's shield in the next few matches.
Also note that while these situations require them to block consecutively in short amounts of time, many of these moves reduce the shield to a very small size which allows for shield pokes. The shield doesn't have to break for it to successfully add pressure for you.
This would have been more in line with "theorycrafting" in Smash4, but i've been putting this to use in actual matches with pretty decent results. Give it a shot guys.
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