"He just plays smart."
Something we've all heard a thousand times, and it seems being able to be a smart player, one of the most crucial aspects of Smash, is reserved only for those of us destined for greatness. How do you play smart? It's hard to define, but I think I may have come across something that will help players progress in the field.
I was reading Patrick Chapin's Magic: The Gathering book (shameless advertising: Next Level Magic - I highly recommend it), and he came across a topic I hadn't really seen discussed too much in Magic before: shortcuts. After letting it sink in for a while, I realized something; this same basic idea is applicable to Smash.
For those who haven't read the book (don't worry, you don't have to in order to understand this), the basic idea is that at any moment in the game, there are any one of a thousand options you could choose. So how do we know which ones to choose? Some situations may seem obvious to us, especially those who practice all the time, but it basically comes down to knowing which options are relevant to the situation at hand. Like I said, many of these seem obvious, but I think it is still important to know how we think in order to make better decisions more often.
Let's take an actual game example. I'm playing Brawl, using Bowser and my opponent is a Meta Knight. We're on battlefield, with both characters roughly under their respective platforms on each side of the stage. What do I do? Naturally, I wouldn't just randomly Up Smash, as I'll be punished, but in a fast paced game like Smash, I don't have a whole lot of time to decide what I am going to do. I could F Tilt. I could short hop an approaching F Air. I could short hop a retreating F Air. I could run at him and shield. I could walk away. I could run away. I could roll away. I could use an empty short hop, fast fall, air dodge to the ground and reverse Up Tilt. I could use a retreating Firebreath. I could imagine that you've got my point already. It would be nice to be able to pause the game and analyze the situation a bit before deciding, but I think we all know that isn't going to happen. Shortcuts allow you to quickly choose from the best options. If you have the right shortcuts in each situation, you'll be able to react quickly and effectively.
So what exactly are shortcuts? Well, I like to think of them as the options that each best perform a goal. A couple of good ones to use as an example would be, "Which is my safest option," and ,"Which option has the largest potential upside." These are both good things to know at any given point. Going back to the Bowser scenario, the safest option would probably be to retreat with a short hop and shoot a puff of Firebreath. It doesn't have much potential upside damage wise, but Bowser is nigh impossible to hit unless he's guessed what you're doing correctly. The largest upside may be to run backwards and try to pivot grab his approach, which will take advantage of Bowser's impressive grab release options and may net you a kill after you CG MK to the edge. Now, shortcuts won't magically make you play smart. However, I feel that they are a great tool for practicing. When you're playing against people or watching video, look for what options you (or others) go to in specific situations, like the long range neutral state in the Bowser vs. MK scenario. Pose questions. What should I have done? Why did that work? How can he counter that? I can't tell you every shortcut; that would be impossible. But once you are aware of how you think, you can develop your own shortcuts and increase your own ability to think in fast paced action. Maybe you have really good spacing and would rather F Tilt just outside of his range.
So what kinds of shortcuts should I be trying to come up with? Well, the two above are good ones. I'm also a fan of, "Which attacks are best in this matchup?" Certain shortcuts, such as the safest option and matchup bests, are good fallbacks when you may hesitate or are unsure of what to do. They give you time to work and learn to read your opponent without risking too much. Something like, "What's the best way to get to the center of the stage," is always good to know when you're at a high percentage. Speaking of, I'd like to move to another point.
Like I've said, there are far too many shortcuts to even remotely list them here. They narrow down your options and remove the irrelevant and stupid things from your head. However, you're still going to have too much floating around up there if you try and remember all of them at once. This is where networks (call them what you will, it's just the first thing that came to my head) of shortcuts come in handy. The more networks you develop, the more quickly you will be able to recall each chunk of options. Don't get too specific too quickly though. Start out with something easy, such as offence, defense, and neutral. Once you get your basic networks down, start to divide. For example, I'll go with Brawl Bowser again. In offence, you may have F Tilt, F Air, Jab, Klaw, Grab, and Firebreath. Later, once you start using the right moves, break it down. Maybe you have long ranged offense with spaced F Tilt, spaced F Air, and Firebreath and close ranged offense with Jab, Klaw, and Grab. If you practice with your shortcuts in mind, your muscle memory and ability to think quickly will take over in tournament play.
However, don't just read this and go, "Ok." I started an entire thread for a reason. What are your shortcuts? Think about your game and share some networks with all of us!
Also guys, when you list networks, try and explain why you do the moves, not just the moves. I'm going to keep using Nixernator as an example. Listing retreating side b is a good option, but why? I'm guessing that's your safe shortcut. Your high reward shortcut is the D Smash because of all of the stun. Why run away? I hope I'm getting the point across, please tell me if I'm not.
Something we've all heard a thousand times, and it seems being able to be a smart player, one of the most crucial aspects of Smash, is reserved only for those of us destined for greatness. How do you play smart? It's hard to define, but I think I may have come across something that will help players progress in the field.
I was reading Patrick Chapin's Magic: The Gathering book (shameless advertising: Next Level Magic - I highly recommend it), and he came across a topic I hadn't really seen discussed too much in Magic before: shortcuts. After letting it sink in for a while, I realized something; this same basic idea is applicable to Smash.
For those who haven't read the book (don't worry, you don't have to in order to understand this), the basic idea is that at any moment in the game, there are any one of a thousand options you could choose. So how do we know which ones to choose? Some situations may seem obvious to us, especially those who practice all the time, but it basically comes down to knowing which options are relevant to the situation at hand. Like I said, many of these seem obvious, but I think it is still important to know how we think in order to make better decisions more often.
Let's take an actual game example. I'm playing Brawl, using Bowser and my opponent is a Meta Knight. We're on battlefield, with both characters roughly under their respective platforms on each side of the stage. What do I do? Naturally, I wouldn't just randomly Up Smash, as I'll be punished, but in a fast paced game like Smash, I don't have a whole lot of time to decide what I am going to do. I could F Tilt. I could short hop an approaching F Air. I could short hop a retreating F Air. I could run at him and shield. I could walk away. I could run away. I could roll away. I could use an empty short hop, fast fall, air dodge to the ground and reverse Up Tilt. I could use a retreating Firebreath. I could imagine that you've got my point already. It would be nice to be able to pause the game and analyze the situation a bit before deciding, but I think we all know that isn't going to happen. Shortcuts allow you to quickly choose from the best options. If you have the right shortcuts in each situation, you'll be able to react quickly and effectively.
So what exactly are shortcuts? Well, I like to think of them as the options that each best perform a goal. A couple of good ones to use as an example would be, "Which is my safest option," and ,"Which option has the largest potential upside." These are both good things to know at any given point. Going back to the Bowser scenario, the safest option would probably be to retreat with a short hop and shoot a puff of Firebreath. It doesn't have much potential upside damage wise, but Bowser is nigh impossible to hit unless he's guessed what you're doing correctly. The largest upside may be to run backwards and try to pivot grab his approach, which will take advantage of Bowser's impressive grab release options and may net you a kill after you CG MK to the edge. Now, shortcuts won't magically make you play smart. However, I feel that they are a great tool for practicing. When you're playing against people or watching video, look for what options you (or others) go to in specific situations, like the long range neutral state in the Bowser vs. MK scenario. Pose questions. What should I have done? Why did that work? How can he counter that? I can't tell you every shortcut; that would be impossible. But once you are aware of how you think, you can develop your own shortcuts and increase your own ability to think in fast paced action. Maybe you have really good spacing and would rather F Tilt just outside of his range.
So what kinds of shortcuts should I be trying to come up with? Well, the two above are good ones. I'm also a fan of, "Which attacks are best in this matchup?" Certain shortcuts, such as the safest option and matchup bests, are good fallbacks when you may hesitate or are unsure of what to do. They give you time to work and learn to read your opponent without risking too much. Something like, "What's the best way to get to the center of the stage," is always good to know when you're at a high percentage. Speaking of, I'd like to move to another point.
Like I've said, there are far too many shortcuts to even remotely list them here. They narrow down your options and remove the irrelevant and stupid things from your head. However, you're still going to have too much floating around up there if you try and remember all of them at once. This is where networks (call them what you will, it's just the first thing that came to my head) of shortcuts come in handy. The more networks you develop, the more quickly you will be able to recall each chunk of options. Don't get too specific too quickly though. Start out with something easy, such as offence, defense, and neutral. Once you get your basic networks down, start to divide. For example, I'll go with Brawl Bowser again. In offence, you may have F Tilt, F Air, Jab, Klaw, Grab, and Firebreath. Later, once you start using the right moves, break it down. Maybe you have long ranged offense with spaced F Tilt, spaced F Air, and Firebreath and close ranged offense with Jab, Klaw, and Grab. If you practice with your shortcuts in mind, your muscle memory and ability to think quickly will take over in tournament play.
However, don't just read this and go, "Ok." I started an entire thread for a reason. What are your shortcuts? Think about your game and share some networks with all of us!
Good point here. Having networks helps because you are chunking info, but you should use something to help you remember it. I think mnemonic devices are a little slow, but perhaps something similar to the 1-sun method? Basically, find a name for a network, and then say the name and go down the list of options under that name. So Nixernator, your spacing network (for ZSS) would be Down Smash just outside of range, retreating Side B, and making sure he can't get in close. So, practice sometime and just repeat the options (aloud or to yourself, it shouldn't matter). After a while, saying spacing should automatically bring those three choices to your head. Then, when you want to space in a match, repeat spacing to yourself and you should automatically have those options ready. Abbreviate names as well. Down Smash just outside of range is a bit long, so maybe missed D Smash or something.Nixernator said:
Also guys, when you list networks, try and explain why you do the moves, not just the moves. I'm going to keep using Nixernator as an example. Listing retreating side b is a good option, but why? I'm guessing that's your safe shortcut. Your high reward shortcut is the D Smash because of all of the stun. Why run away? I hope I'm getting the point across, please tell me if I'm not.
