Smash 4 yomi layers and option coverage

[Gatoray]

I'd argue that Smash 4 has the most involvement of yomi layers out of all the other Smash games. The overall lack of ATs, safe high-priority moves, and especially the new ledge mechanic plays into this. When a player flies off the stage, you can no longer just grab the ledge and let them fall, you need to hit them otherwise they can make it back (as long as their recovery ability allows it). This player sometimes has the option to attack or dodge while making their way back. Do you wait for the dodge or do you avoid the attack? Wrong guesses lead to missed opportunities, mistakes can lead to a stock loss. How can one develop a way to cover all or most options while off stage? It was easy in Melee and Brawl since you could use the ledge gimp technique as part of your option coverage, but not anymore.

This game does have combos, no doubt, but it seems a lot of the time these "combos" are heavily reliant on how accurate you are in guessing the air dodges and the layers of yomi. What are some ways that I can get more reliable options against my opponent? In Melee it was easy to tech chase, and that was primarily reaction-based. What do we have in Smash 4?

 

[B0NK]

I like the gif in your sig.

10/10 - IGN

-_^b

 

[Cyre]

Well not a lot, unfortunately. Smash4 has kind of a lack of hit stun and some ****ty hit boxes, so you will find that you can easily whiff things. This is a not a problem for all characters. Shiek has some amazing strings. I'm not to versatile on this topic since all I know is Toon Link.

Offstage guarding seems to have really taken a hit in smash 4. Hopefully your character has a great spike, because if he/she doesn't, you might as well wait for them to climb back on stage. The snap on ledges can be far too forgiving, and the lack of any edge hogging just means more waiting. When it comes to reading airdodges or yomi layers or w.e. I don't think you can actually read airdodges. Your enemy can just keep pressing the button, hoping for you to miss, and a lot of the time, you will end up doing so.

When you chase someone with a counter or who will probably airdodge, because the situation obviously calls for one of those two options, (or they can just take the hit, but who wants that?) you wait for it.

Again, I'd take my words with a grain of salt, because I'm not very knowledgeable.

 

[luke_atyeo]

^ whiffing doesnt really have anything to do with yomi, strictly speaking.

Basically anything that can be predicted can be punished (if you know what your opponent is going to do before they do it, and you know what the answer is to beat what they are doing, then unless you screw up or aren't in range, you get a punish) including air dodges (espcially airdodges) some characters like fox can throw out an attack to bait the airdodge and then use a second aerial to punish, other characters can use aerials to force you to airdodge into the ground and then punish your landing lag, others still can punish your airdodge by using an attack with a lingering hitbox. Air dodges can be read because its a common option that you can condition people to do when you want them to, what you described above was not that airdodges cant be read, but more why bother because if you read it you cant punish it, but thats not the case.

yomi has to do with the whole reading of a paper scissors rock kinda thing, getting a read and then screwing up your punish due to execution error doesnt mean that you didnt get the read/choose the right option (hence whiffing and such has very little to do with yomi)

 

[LightLV]

After brawl, smash became pretty much nothing but mindgames. It barely gets too deep though. The ledge is probably the most braindead section of Smash 4 thanks to the new mechanic that gives you a free grab regardless of your position. In fact, some recoveries are so good that attempting to punish them puts your stock at at least an equal risk to the person attempting to recover...

In smash, you can know exactly what your opponent is doing to do, make a perfect read and still be unable to get an adequate punish or advantageous situation out of it. The stakes in Smash 4 are never high enough to make Yomi feel like a truly powerful concept...or at least one that goes past a single layer or so.