SoCal: We need a wakeup call.

[Rubyiris]

Amazing thread. Every one of you needs to move down to AZ.

We're too good.

 

[SuperRad]

i hate when i make a post
and seconds later a new page starts
because i think people wont read my post

especially since this post above me [barring a post during the time it took for me to write this] is ****ing useless

 

[pockyD]

well only losers use 40ppp, so your post wasn't really on a new page

 

[SuperRad]

Shouldn't it still be on a new page anyways?
And 40ppp is the standard if you aren't a *****. So **** your mother.

 

[-Rei-]

this was a good read now i know what to look for
and search for my mistakes
and thanks to cactuar marth thread


brian how many post per page do you have i still see yours in the center. 40?

 

[SuperRad]

I use 40ppp, as should anyone that wants to be my friend

 

[ConnorTheKid]

Amazing thread. Every one of you needs to move down to AZ.

We're too good.

b-b-b-but Melee's unfair! No matter how long I practice, my friends are as good as me! *cry*

 

[DJMirror]

hey Kira
one of the reasons why i have a easier time learning from P, I guess he simple things up for me better then you (sorry but ya still a cool guy to teach me)


interesting stuff and tips

thanks P

 

[One Word Extinguisher]

How can you work on being more aggressive?

I was trying to counter foxes by trying to slow down the game, which hasn't worked for me. I realized [thanks kira] that I should instead be putting them under pressure.

I feel like this is completely contrary to what I used to try to do, so I'm not sure what the best way to go about it is.

It's okay for Sheik to be defensive. Slowing down the game is good versus Fox, but at the same time, you have to be technical enough on the platforms and with needles and such because they're your main "get the hell out of here!" card.

Sheik is a very different character from most other top tiers (Fox/Falco) in the sense that she controls space. Think of her like a souped up Ganon, or a simpler ninja version of Marth without the sword. (Of course every character attempts to control space, but bear with me.) Ganon/Marth work by keeping you in his effective range -- for Marth it's his fsmash, for Ganon it's the fair and bair. They want to bait you into that area, because that's the range in which they win and you cannot do anything. Get inside that range, though, and they get destroyed.

It's the same for Sheik, but she has a lot easier time creating a wall because she can autocancel all her aerials. Focus on trying to stay in ftilt range, but whenever your opponent commits himself to a move, fall back to your autocancel aerials. Fox trot to autocancel bair; shorthop backwards to autocancel fair to ftilt. And so on and so forth.

I will use this as the jumping off point for another post...

Noob Mentality

Being a noob has nothing to do with your talent, or lack thereof. It has nothing to do with your inexperience in and of itself. Being a noob is essentially the mindset of results-oriented thinking.

What is results oriented thinking? Getting close to someone in a friendly and assuming it was because of your own skill. Essentially, being a noob is not playing to learn, as Forward said, or to improve. Being a noob is always playing to win and always being concerned and validated by wins and losses regardless of context.

Getting better takes time. It takes weeks and months, not days; it doesn't happen overnight, it doesn't happen at one smashfest, it doesn't happen at one tournament. You can get "better" in one day, but it means nothing unless you continue doing exactly what made you better for the rest of your life. You may think you can do that, but chances are you can't, and if you can do it, you will know because it's requiring mental energy every time you pick up the controller. The times you outperformed your own expectations, chances it probably had more to do with your attitude, mood, opponent or matchup. Just worry about yourself -- staying calm and learning and erasing your bad habits -- and the results will come. You can't force anything. The only goal you should have is controlling yourself, not beating your opponent.

How do you know if you're being a noob? Simple:

Having a conditioned response to the same situation every time, and not caring because it "works" every now and then. Example: shield grabbing or attacking from the ledge. Sure, it worked out for you the couple of times it was successful, but you're suffering from memory bias; you're not realizing it's the main reason you're getting punished for your stock most of the time. Why? Because you're being results oriented, focusing only on your positive results. My biggest pet peeve that most noobs do?

Camping. I'm here to tell you: camping is bad. Certain characters and matchups can get away with camping -- Peach, for example, is a defensive character. You have to play defensively with her because she's just not quick enough to apply consistent pressure. Sheik is also primarily a defensive character (IN MY OPINION; I think that is how she is best used); she applies pressure defensively, with spacing, and by forming a wall around her that is impenetrable. But if you use Fox, Falco, Marth, Falcon, Jigglypuff or Luigi, you have to be aggressive. There are rare exceptions, but you're not those exceptions, nor should you hope to be. If you main those characters, you need to embody their aggressiveness. No, that doesn't mean you should always be approaching -- when you're playing characters more aggressive than yourself (such as Falcon versus Fox or Falco), then it's okay to be defensive. But overall you're going to need to know how to be aggressive, how to consistently put pressure on your opponent and how to extract their bad habits at will. Good aggressive players force bad habits out of their opponents. If you are defensive, you will not create bad habits.

But no matter what character you choose, you will need to understand how and when to be aggressive. This is why, for lesser players trying to improve their game, it's good to be aggressive. It's a good habit to have. Yes, you're going to get ***** hard for it, but you know what? Melee is an aggressive and confident game! You can't be scared! By getting ***** you'll learn what does and doesn't work. The hardest thing to do in this game is to approach -- but you're never going to learn how to approach if you don't experiment and try to be aggressive!

SuperRad, while it's okay for Sheik to be defensive, that doesn't mean never approach. Rather, you want to give the appearance of approaching, and merely spacing attacks into their shield. You can do that forever; it's always safe, and it tests their reactions and habits. Oh, they tried to shield grab or attack out of shield or roll? Punished. Primarily I approach with bair with Sheik; it allows me to stay on the ground until I choose to use it and fox trot around the stage. Running right at your opponent (the Drephen) is also a good approach -- based on your opponent's responses, you can shield, downsmash, dash attack (all three fall under the umbrella of the Drephen), wavedash back, boost grab, or short hop backwards (my favorite) and wait for your opponent to do something (such as shield). I abuse the backwards short hop since it keeps all of my options open: I can waveland in either direction and dash attack or boost grab, which makes my effective range half the stage, I can needle cancel to bair, I can needle to cover my options, or I can autocancel a fair to defend myself. The way I play Sheik is all about giving yourself options and baiting your opponent into doing something. But you can just as easily play her extremely aggressively; this just requires more skill and game knowledge, but I don't recommend it until you learn your character inside and out.

 

[Atlus8]

P, add everything onto the first post!

 

[One Word Extinguisher]

Should I? What do you guys think?

I planned on editing things for clarity / readability and adding things as I think of them, but should I just add them all to the first post as well? Makes sense.

I really want everyone -- not just SoCal, but predominantly SoCal -- to get better! It makes me get better too, which is all I want. I hope everyone adopts this attitude.

 

[SuperRad]

Thanks P.

I got some thinkin' to do
[And practicin']

edit:
You could make the first post have links to individual posts that are full of information.

 

[LunInSpectra]

Very nice work, P!

 

[Kouryuu]

This thread was a really good read.

Good ****!

 

[joeplicate]

Thanks P.

I got some thinkin' to do
[And practicin']

edit:
You could make the first post have links to individual posts that are full of information.

this is the way to do it

we don't want too long of a first post.
if you want to get this **** in real order then you can write like an introduction, too, or break it up into sections

 

[Hostility]

This is a good topic, I don't agree with everything being said, but this has certainly given me some things to think about and improve upon.

 

[nicaboy]

my biggest problem is getting frustrated.

 

[DCmoney1255]

what are my bad habits?

 

[ender]

I use 40ppp, as should anyone that wants to be my friend

Also, this is a good thread.

 

[joeplicate]

I changed to 40 just because you said to

 

[JTB]

i hate when i make a post
and seconds later a new page starts
because i think people wont read my post

especially since this post above me [barring a post during the time it took for me to write this] is ****ing useless

i read all of your posts, since they are super rad posts

 

[pockyD]

***** i'm gonna move down to 5 ppp just so i always miss your posts

 

[ZeldaFreak0309]

The Noob Mentality bit describes me perfectly, thanks P (no, seriously, now I can try to not be a noob)

 

[DJMirror]

P the teacher of So cal

 

[JZA]

Pick Fox and Falco. Pick a Lv1 Bowser, put the Damage Ratio on .5, and the Handicap on, with Bowser's at 9 and yours at 1. Practice drill shines/pillars. Practice nair shines. Important: vary the fast fall speed of your aerials. This will mimic the shield-timing situations that will occur in real matches. The trick of drill shining properly is hitting the fast fall. Even if you don't main these characters, it will help get your fingers faster!

this is ****in genius.

 

[KILLA.FOR.CASH.]

id add to the discussion but my grammar sucks so ill just say this

if you want to get better, try breaking out of your comfort zone and try new tactics.
if you're normally an all out defensive player, try incorporating a little more offense into your playstyle and see how it works out...

dont over complicate the game. i used to have this problem before. the game is alot simpler than most people think. once you realize this, you'll get alot better.

 

[DanteFox]

dont over complicate the game. i used to have this problem before. the game is alot simpler than most people think. once you realize this, you'll get alot better.

care to give an example?

 

[KILLA.FOR.CASH.]

like when im playing marth vs shiek. the shiek is being defensive near the ledge, charging needles and waiting for me to approach.

i think to myself (i'll keep on the offense 90% of the time so i dont eat needle damage all the time, and can force the shiek to do stupid rolls, jumps, and dodges.)

so when i go on my approach, i pay more attention to what my opponent does and how he moves because i am confident in my tech skill enough that i dont have to pay 100% attention to my character.

i try to react to things quick enough like... will my opponent stop charging needles when i approach? will she shoot the needles at me? will she shield cancel her needles and try to shield grab me? will she roll behind me? will she jump and try to get over my spaced fairs?

i can reduce the amount of things the shiek will do with good spacing and not messing up my l-cancels.

for example

if i l-cancel and space properly, the shiek cant grab me. so i dont need to worry about shield grabs.

the shiek will probably stop trying to shield grab me after the first 2 or 3 times she misses.

now the shiek will probably try to jump above my well spaced fairs or roll behind me and punish.

now i can just wait for her to fall (so i can utilt her or dash dance grab, and if she double jumps, then im at a huge advantage because i can auto combo her)

basically all you gotta do is box yourself in to the situation at hand, and just stay 1 step ahead. dont clutter your mind by thinking 2470673461312 steps ahead of your opponent. that will only make you do bad things and ull get ***** for it


i hope this is easy to understand =[

 

[FALCOMIST]

Sometimes I think u guys overthink too much on strategy lol.

Just keep playing and know what works and what doesnt work. Then abuse it in tournament if u remember them. Play safe and cautiously and know when to be aggressive and when not to be.

Keep ur mind clear and look at all options u have in different situations.

P ur better then me at explaining things xD. So im a shut up now haha.

 

[pockyD]

don't worry about trivial things like JC grabs!

 

[FALCOMIST]

don't worry about trivial things like JC grabs!

LOL

u can ask replicate and Pocky how bad I am on terms and technical stuff...

Like they had to explain to me jump grab and pivot smash two days ago... Im a newb but I get decently far I guess =/ Im not that good though lol.

 

[KILLA.FOR.CASH.]

Keep ur mind clear and look at all options u have in different situations.

this is what i was trying to say lol.

this is all u gotta do really. the game is simple people!!

this is why mango is really good. he eliminates his opponents good options and replaces them with bad options through the use of amazing pressure. thats why he reads people so well, because he already knows the things that you're gonna do

 

[joeplicate]

justin

practice in your room and I think you will be m2k status
if not better

It's just like Neighborhood P says:
There's no excuse to not be technical!

 

[ILoveRice]

LOL

u can ask replicate and Pocky how bad I am on terms and technical stuff...

Like they had to explain to me jump grab and pivot smash two days ago... Im a newb but I get decently far I guess =/ Im not that good though lol.

What! dude if your a newb wth am i? your 3rd in norcal :o

and im 50th in washington

 

[pockyD]

Im a newb but I get decently far I guess =/ Im not that good though lol.

POWERFUL!i!

 

[One Word Extinguisher]

Sometimes I think u guys overthink too much on strategy lol.

Just keep playing and know what works and what doesnt work. Then abuse it in tournament if u remember them. Play safe and cautiously and know when to be aggressive and when not to be.

Yep.

This is all you have to do. Abuse what is safe and unpunishable and don't do anything that puts you in poor positions. When you're in a poor position, don't panic and do panicky defensive moves that will inevitably get punished; just keep your head clear and wait for your opponent to make a mistake and capitalize off of it.

 

[Naota21t]

all justin practices is stupid stuff

like going underneath final destination w/ mewtwo.

 

[SuperRad]

all justin practices is stupid stuff

like going underneath final destination w/ mewtwo.

can you beat his mewtwo

 

[Naota21t]

i think i've beaten his mewtwo a few times. but i haven't played it in a LONG time, back when i sucked a lot more.

the only char i haven't beaten of his i think is his ganon.

 

[pockyD]

i think i've beaten his mewtwo a few times. but i haven't played it in a LONG time, back when i sucked a lot more.

the only char i haven't beaten of his i think is his ganon.

Being a noob has nothing to do with your talent, or lack thereof. It has nothing to do with your inexperience in and of itself. Being a noob is essentially the mindset of results-oriented thinking.

What is results oriented thinking? Getting close to someone in a friendly and assuming it was because of your own skill. Essentially, being a noob is not playing to learn, as Forward said, or to improve. Being a noob is always playing to win and always being concerned and validated by wins and losses regardless of context.

l