Smash Wii U So I recently came back to the game..

[Shinyfox]

I have no idea who to main, I lost all my fundamentals. I really want to main zss but then I lab for a hour and go online and can't hit anything on anyone. I am a really rushdown person and like to pressure my enemy till they run out of options and I haven't felt like I really flow with most characters I have played. I like lucina but don't get enjoyment out of playing her and I like pikachu but he's way to hard to master.

(I played for about 6-8 months in 2015 then left for all of 2016)

Any help or suggestions would be great thanks in advance.
Criticism is welcomed!

 

[NINTENDO Galaxy]

I would say to try to go to locals or play with friends, online input delay and lag can hinder your play and success For me playing online a lot and then going to a local is not a good combination for me, it messes up my timings for moves and shields but it did help me learn matchups.

 

[Dream Cancel]

I have no idea who to main, I lost all my fundamentals. I really want to main zss but then I lab for a hour and go online and can't hit anything on anyone. I am a really rushdown person and like to pressure my enemy till they run out of options and I haven't felt like I really flow with most characters I have played. I like lucina but don't get enjoyment out of playing her and I like pikachu but he's way to hard to master.

(I played for about 6-8 months in 2015 then left for all of 2016)

Any help or suggestions would be great thanks in advance.
Criticism is welcomed!

So I meant to reply to this a few days ago, but got busy, so let me start...

I highly recommend you watch or re-watch Izaw's Art of Smash series on YouTube. There are four videos, and I recommend you play close attention to the Beginner and Advanced videos because fundamentals are built from the ground up, so you'll need to spend some time on basics before you have cohesive gameplay. Feel free to watch the Expert and Master videos; they're great too and will give you some things to think about while you're practicing.

Next, I recommend going to the ZSS discord server on smashcords.com. Go to their metagame channel and ask them what fundamental things you should be practicing as a renewed ZSS main. The people on these discords range from newbies to top players, so you'll stand to benefit greatly by visiting these servers.

As for the application of your labbing, you'll make a lot of mistakes in the beginning, but I suggest you focus on one technique at a time. Try to figure out when a specific tech or tactic works well, and when it doesn't. For example, ZSS D-Smash > Flip Kick at the ledge. The D-smash can be used in such a way to out-space get-up attacks, catch jumps, and hit opponents with no ledge invulnerability. Should you read one of these options (or force one with a ledge trump), then you're more likely to land this kill confirm.

As for playstyle, I recommend you tone down your aggression from a rushdown style to an offensive one. The difference is that you still use some defensive options when needed, or wait if there isn't an obvious opening for you. Rushdown has a couple major flaws, and that's usually in the form of over-commitment or poor spacing. Let your fundamentals develop more before you attempt a more extreme playstyle.

However, if that's the style you're going to stick too, I suggest you give Mario a try. He's very flexible and great at pressuring opponents with his excellent frame data. Kirby is similar, but has a bit more emphasis on whiff punishing. Captain Falcon is a good alternative as well, because he has excellent mobility to pressure opponents with movement. Mario, Kirby, and Captain Falcon are all great characters for training fundamentals as well.

Lastly, as a personal note, I highly recommend you focus on being smooth. Flow seamlessly from attacks to movement to shielding to ledge trumping to auto-cancelling, etc. This is a mark of a strong player, imo.

Good luck!

 

[Spiwizzle]

Do you think any style fits you best? Regardless of favorite character, do you think you'd be better with a sword? ranged attacks? melee attacks? I think just playing whichever you feel most comfortable with would be a good 'training exercise' of sorts. However, if you really wanna main b̶l̶u̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶t̶r̶o̶i̶d Zero Suit Samus, I'd say to practice a ton, and talk to other ZSS mains to ask about strategies.

B-b-by the way... I... I r-really... like the picture in your signature...

 

[Shinyfox]

So I meant to reply to this a few days ago, but got busy, so let me start...

I highly recommend you watch or re-watch Izaw's Art of Smash series on YouTube. There are four videos, and I recommend you play close attention to the Beginner and Advanced videos because fundamentals are built from the ground up, so you'll need to spend some time on basics before you have cohesive gameplay. Feel free to watch the Expert and Master videos; they're great too and will give you some things to think about while you're practicing.

Next, I recommend going to the ZSS discord server on smashcords.com. Go to their metagame channel and ask them what fundamental things you should be practicing as a renewed ZSS main. The people on these discords range from newbies to top players, so you'll stand to benefit greatly by visiting these servers.

As for the application of your labbing, you'll make a lot of mistakes in the beginning, but I suggest you focus on one technique at a time. Try to figure out when a specific tech or tactic works well, and when it doesn't. For example, ZSS D-Smash > Flip Kick at the ledge. The D-smash can be used in such a way to out-space get-up attacks, catch jumps, and hit opponents with no ledge invulnerability. Should you read one of these options (or force one with a ledge trump), then you're more likely to land this kill confirm.

As for playstyle, I recommend you tone down your aggression from a rushdown style to an offensive one. The difference is that you still use some defensive options when needed, or wait if there isn't an obvious opening for you. Rushdown has a couple major flaws, and that's usually in the form of over-commitment or poor spacing. Let your fundamentals develop more before you attempt a more extreme playstyle.

However, if that's the style you're going to stick too, I suggest you give Mario a try. He's very flexible and great at pressuring opponents with his excellent frame data. Kirby is similar, but has a bit more emphasis on whiff punishing. Captain Falcon is a good alternative as well, because he has excellent mobility to pressure opponents with movement. Mario, Kirby, and Captain Falcon are all great characters for training fundamentals as well.

Lastly, as a personal note, I highly recommend you focus on being smooth. Flow seamlessly from attacks to movement to shielding to ledge trumping to auto-cancelling, etc. This is a mark of a strong player, imo.

Good luck!

Thanks this is all great advice. I have been in the zss discord for a a really long time, I am actually in many discords and the admin of smash room station. I came from 2d Fighting games so I am used to being on stage not used to all these platforms and falling off of the stage. I have a hard time toning it down because then it becomes passive and I just do nothing so I lose pressure. I also have really unsafe option selects but at this point it's hard wired. I feel like I am just hitting a wall and getting burned out. I don't like mario I feel like he's too simple just feels boring and more grindy. I will try out Captain Falcon and Kirby!

Overall my movement is stiff but improving. Rush down Ends up punishing me. I also fail to mixup a lot of the time, going for the same combos or going for grabs to much so I can uair.

(Something I noticed even though I lab I choke when I get in game)

Thank you for making such a detailed post!

Do you think any style fits you best? Regardless of favorite character, do you think you'd be better with a sword? ranged attacks? melee attacks? I think just playing whichever you feel most comfortable with would be a good 'training exercise' of sorts. However, if you really wanna main b̶l̶u̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶t̶r̶o̶i̶d Zero Suit Samus, I'd say to practice a ton, and talk to other ZSS mains to ask about strategies.

B-b-by the way... I... I r-really... like the picture in your signature...

I like being up-close and personal. I have tried fox and few other characters. (The only characters I actually like are Peach, Pikachu, ZSS, Sheik, Lucina, Rosalina) From what I have played so far.

I am only comfortable with ZSS atm. I do practice but I am starting to burn out. I have consulted many ZSS Mains and Coaches from the ZSS Discord and watched many nairo and marass gameplay videos. I need detailed advice about what I am doing wrong but people that want to help me only give me the basics and not the breakdown. So it's harder for me to apply it to gameplay, in general videos are harder to translate to gameplay.

(Thank you I am a graphic designer and I have been for around 5 years!)

 

[SN Kurse]

Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice so far.


I know the feeling though. I've been playing mostly since launch, but had the hardest time finding a main. I went through a lot of time playing a character for roughly a month or two because I'd like them at first, but over time found that they didn't 'fit' or feel right. So trust me, I certainly know the feeling.

The good thing here is that you know what you like to do for a play style. That's huge, and can certainly help you. I strongly suggest playing around for an extended period of time with all the characters to get a good feel for them. Especially with all the DLC being out, that adds a bit for you to work with.

If I had to make an educated guess just based on what you've mentioned thus far and what others have said, this would be my personal take on who you possibly could enjoy out of the whole cast/who would fit.

- Probably a really easy choice. Cloud has a really easy time playing aggressive and works very well in both singles and doubles. Also seeing as you clearly got at least something out of playing Lucina (maybe not enjoyment, but something), Cloud could be a possibility. Plus the ongoing joke of "everyone has a pocket Cloud"

- I mean I think this is pretty self explanatory. Falcon needs to get in and heavily benefits from throw combos. Your movement currently may be stiff, but learning things like extended dash dancing and perfect pivots are very easy with him and can transfer over to any other character.

- Banana pressure and great frame data/movement options. Really solid character all around and should fit what you're looking for pretty much spot on.

- Might be a bit of an oddball pick here, but I feel like Ryu's who have really solid pressure games and can easily connect into true shoryuken are frightening.

- Nair is an insanely good tool to get out of things and get things going, and his combo game is both flashy and amazing. Basically if you can mash like crazy to really utilize his tornado, you should be golden.

 

[Heracr055]

I have a few suggestions:
1) Rebuild your fundamentals with an all-rounder. This will help you recognize what to do in situations without having to worry too much about character-specific quirks (Ryu inputs, ZSS nair->FJK and ladders, etc). For this, I'd highly suggest Mario, Ike or (Dark) Pit (Dark Pit was my first main and he taught me a lot).
2) Make a list of characters you like as characters, not necessarily ones you think you would be good with. It's hard to stick to a character you don't enjoy. When you finish that, you can then select characters that you both enjoy as a character and line up with your playstyle. As recommended from others, try offensive instead of rush down and see how that works out.
3) Be prepared to lose A LOT. This is all part of the training phase and it should take awhile till you start racking up wins. Don't let it discourage you! Spend time in the lab as well to learn the intricities and nuances of your char.

I would be interested in seeing your list from 2). Hopefully it's not a repeat of the list you made in an earlier post.

 

[Dream Cancel]

Thanks this is all great advice. I have been in the zss discord for a a really long time, I am actually in many discords and the admin of smash room station. I came from 2d Fighting games so I am used to being on stage not used to all these platforms and falling off of the stage. I have a hard time toning it down because then it becomes passive and I just do nothing so I lose pressure. I also have really unsafe option selects but at this point it's hard wired. I feel like I am just hitting a wall and getting burned out.

-snip-

Okay, that's good you're in smashcords; you're several steps ahead of me, lol. (I actually just joined Smash Room Station yee)

If you have any replays, I'm more than willing to sit down and analyze them, if you're okay with that. I know how to break plateaus from experience (and it's only a google search away) and I know that a fresh set of eyes on the topic can help you innovate to the next level.

Also, regarding burnout, I highly recommend you study up on the causes of and solutions to it. It's not a quick fix, but not tackling the issue early can lead to health problems later in life, so getting a good handle on it is important to your well-being and happiness.