rahsosprout
Smash Apprentice
I might add pics tomorrow. Too sleepy right now. Wrote this in 4 hours at 3 a.m. so let me know if you guys see typos/grammar errors. Suggestions also appreciated.
Solid Snake Guide
Pros:
High damage and Priority attacks
Heavyweight Character
Down-throw tech chase
Many tools for stage control/pressuring
Most projectiles (8: F-smash, U-smash, D-smash, Grenade, Nikita, Cypher, Box, C4)
Cons:
Horrible Air Game
Difficult to get back onto the stage
Very gimpable Recovery
No combos
Moveset
Jab (neutral A)
Description: Snake punches twice and then kicks while spinning around.
This move has incredibly high priority. (For example, if you hold A, it negates Jigglypuff’s Rollout.)
This is Snake’s fastest move so expect to use this move a lot. Due to stale move negation, this makes his jab not a reliable killing move if you keep using it, so try to save either Snake’s F-tilt or his U-tilt for kills. (If there is ever a part of a stage that can be attacked such as the vine in brinstar, use a move you don’t use much such as d-tilt to hit it, because this refreshes your other moves. Also keep in mind that dying refreshes everything as well).
Note that you can control the speed of the move by tapping A at different intervals, or just hold A and make Snake spazz out until he hits something.
Data:
Jab 1
Hitbox Out: Frame 3
Base Damage: 4%
Jab 2
Hitbox Out: Frame 4
Base Damage: 3%
Jab 3
Hitbox Out: Frame 10
Base Damage: 7%
F-Tilt
Description: Snake knees and then steps forward to whack the opponent.
The first hit locks the opponent, only if they are on the ground. If you knee an aerial approach, they just get launched. Most people will expect you to follow through with F-tilt 2 if you connected with F-tilt 1, so they will often not expect you to follow up F-Tilt 1 with either a jab combo or an U-tilt (to kill).
This is a great KO move, has great range, does massive amounts of damage for a move that comes out so quickly. I would recommend using this mainly to punish, because it is very easy to get grabbed out of F-tilt 1 due to its low shield push, especially if they powershield it.
Data:
F-tilt 1
Hitbox Out: Frame 4
Base Damage: 8%
F-tilt 2
Hitbox Out: Frame 6
Base Damage: 9-12%
U-Tilt
Description: Snake kicks upwards with an extremely disjointed hitbox.
Whoever programmed this must have wanted to break the game or was drunk. This move has high priority, great horizontal range (lol), and decent shield push, making it harder to punish.
This is a great KO move, so try to save this move. Lighter characters like Jigglypuff can be killed at around 80% w/o DI and heavyweights up to 120% (if it’s fresh).
This can also be used to juggle opponents at low percentages.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 6
Base Damage: 12-13%
D-Tilt
Description: Snake lays low to the ground and spins around in a circle while kicking his legs out in front of him.
To be honest, I rarely use this move, especially when I have Snake’s other close combat moves, but it does have its uses. If you anticipate an aerial, you can d-tilt to simultaneously dodge the aerial attack and hit the opponent as they land.
Another benefit of this move is that it will probably always be fresh, so if you are need of a killing move, this could come in handy, though it kills in the 120-150% range without DI for lightweight to heavyweight characters, respectively.
When using this move though, be sure not to crouch first, otherwise it is quite obvious which move you will use next.
I might as well cover crouching here. Snake is able to crawl, which is often helpful to avoid some projectiles such as Falco’s &#*@ing laser.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 6
Base Damage: 10%
Dash Attack
Description: Snake dives forward into a roll.
This move is great for punishing. This can also be canceled into an U-smash (DACUS) for stage coverage and to make this move even harder to punish. DACUS is done by initiating the dash attack and immediately slamming up on the C-stick (can also be charged). Note that DACUS w/o contact is significantly harder because you do not get the additional 10 frames during hit lag.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 5 (Strong), Frame 7 (Weak)
Base Damage: 32% (Strong), 28% (Weak)
F-smash
Description: Snake pulls out an RPG Launcher and shoots the ground directly in front of him.
Not very practical in a 1 v 1. This moves takes forever to come out and you will probably be punished for it. This can be used as an edgeguard, however, but Snake has so many other edgeguarding tools that have significantly higher chances of hitting so I would recommend you to stay away from this move.
One use this does have, is if you anticipate that your opponent will roll behind you after a down throw, you can immediately f-smash behind you.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 41
Base Damage: 22%
D-Smash
Description: Snake lays a mine.
Note that the longer you charge it, the less visible the mine will be and the more damage it will do. The mine also disappears from its original location if you either plant another one or wait for 25 seconds. Unless your opponent is dumb, they will know exactly where you planted it, but that is exactly the point. The mine is great for pressuring and controlling where your opponent moves.
If you use this move after you have scored a kill, your opponent will often use their invincibility frames to safely detonate it. One way around this is to either plant mines upon spawning, or to stand near the mine and make them go after you instead.
Also keep in mind that characters with large disjointed hitboxes or projectiles can often safely detonate the mine as well, so do not give them a chance to do so.
Do NOT plant your mines directly next to the ledge because your opponent can use the invincibility frames from the ledge attack to get rid of your mine.
Data:
Hitbox Out: 55 Frames After Planting (Almost a full second)
Base Damage: 14%
U-Smash
Description: Snake pulls out a mortar and fires it upwards.
If the opponent is standing next to you, the hit from Snake pulling out the mortar launcher puts them in position to be hit by the mortar.
I mainly use this move for DACUS, which I mentioned briefly in the Dash Attack section. DACUS can be used to follow up many moves and chase after your opponent. This is also a great edgeguard as you can DACUS to the edge of the stage and keep spamming these.
I’m pretty sure you cannot influence the trajectory of the mortar (whether it goes left or right), but I do know that the longer you charge it, the greater the chance of the mortar landing farther away from you.
If you have enough time, this is a great alternative to U-tilt because it keeps U-tilt fresh and gives you much more range. One significant downside to this move, is that it can be reflected back at you to deal significantly more damage, so do not use this move against characters with reflectors.
It is hard to hit with this move if they are on the ground next to you, so I will often grab them and try to time it so that I throw them into it. Another way to mix it up is to alternate between charged mortars and uncharged mortars so two mortars fall simultaneously.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 11(Launcher), Frame 29(Mortar)
Base Damage: 4% (Launcher), 10% (Mortar)
N-Air
Description: Snake kicks four times in front of him. This **** looks like it would hurt.
The first 3 kicks don’t have any knockback.
If you Short-Hop this move, the fourth kick will not come out, so you need to full hop it.
This move can also be DIed out of but don’t forget that you can move too during the move.
I try not to use this move much because of it’s fairly long landing lag (30 Frames).
Snake often has a hard time landing back onto the stage, so using this move as you try to recover serves as a great deterrent for your opponent to stay away from you and lets you get back onto the stage.
I will also use a full-hopped N-air if my opponent is grabbing the ledge and I anticipate that they will jump up from the ledge. (I picked this up from watching Ally’s videos). Also, be sure to fastfall it if you anticipated incorrectly.
It’s useful to note that you can full hop N-air while moving towards your opponent.
Data:
Kick 1
HitboxOut: Frame 10
Base Damage: 6%
Kick 2
HitboxOut: Frame 22
Base Damage: 5%
Kick 3
HitboxOut: Frame 34
Base Damage: 4%
Kick 4
HitboxOut: Frame 44
Base Damage: 13%
F-Air
Description: Snake does an axe kick in the air.
Snake’s only spike.
I generally avoid this move while on stage, due to the long windup and landing lag (30 Frames). Off-stage, however, this serves as a deadly spike if you sweetspot it, but even if you don’t, you can often get a star KO.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 23
Base Damage: 14-15%
B-Air
Description: Snake kicks both feet behind him.
This move’s hitbox stays out for quite a while and has hitboxes all the way up to his head. It’s a great edgeguard (jump off the stage and B-air) and because of how far the hitbox reaches, also useful to get back onto the stage.
However, keep in mind that there are 30 Frames of landing lag so you could be punished if you miss or mistime it. Not particularly useful for Reverse Aerial Rushing due to the same reason.
Though the hitbox closer to his head is stronger, try to space it so that only the tips of his feet connect to make it harder for your opponent to punish if they shield or spot dodge it.
I highly recommend that you use this move only when you can avoid belly-flopping because your opponent will definitely punish you for it.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 7 (Fastest Aerial for Momentum canceling)
Base Damage: 14-16% (Strong), 10% (Weak)
U-Air
Description: Similar to B-Air, but Snake kicks upwards instead.
I definitely do not use this much as I should. Though this is a bit harder to connect with, this move has great knockback and serves as a reliable finisher.
It’s useful to jump and U-Air instead of U-Tilt or U-Smash because it comes fast, is often unexpected, and the hitbox stays out for a bit longer (also to keep your U-Tilt fresh).
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 10
Base Damage: 14% (Strong), 10% (Weak)
D-Air
Description: Snake stomps four times directly below him.
Similar to the N-air, the first 3 kicks do not have any knockback.
Unlike N-air, however, four kicks do come out in a short hop.
This move is extremely situational.
This is useful if your opponent is grabbing the ledge and you anticipate the roll or if you just used D-throw and they decide to not move.
You could probably find this out by playing a few games, but this is a HORRIBLE approach from above so do not do it.
Data:
Kick 1
Hitbox Out: Frame 3
Base Damage: 6%
Kick 2
Hitbox Out: Frame 14
Base Damage: 5%
Kick 3
Hitbox Out: Frame 25
Base Damage: 5%
Kick 4
Hitbox Out: Frame 36
Base Damage: 12%
Nikita (Side Special)
Description: Snake pulls out a Nikita launcher that can be remotely controlled.
I typically will only use this as an edgeguard because it has a rather long startup. The ability to drop the Nikita (by shielding) also comes in handy. For example, if I anticipate the opponent will roll towards me, I will drop the Nikita at that spot and still hit them, though this halves the damage dealt.
The Nikita can be deflected slightly off course depending on the strength of the attack or projectile used against it.
Note that when you change the direction of the Nikita missile yourself, the speed of the missile is severely diminished. This can be used to your advantage, however, to stall the missile in mid-air by rapidly changing directions. After a while, the Nikita will run out of fuel and simply fall. You cannot be hurt by the Nikita unless it is reflected.
Data:
Missile Out: Frame 43
Base Damage: 7% (when dropped), 14% normally
C4 (Down Special)
Description: Snake drops a C4 mine that he can remotely detonate it later.
Note that the C4 will automatically explode after 27 seconds.
C4 has a tremendous number of uses.
The biggest use for this move is the C4 recovery. If you are unable to recover up high and your only option to reach the stage is to grab the ledge, you will probably be better off using the C4 recovery. During the last bit right before your cypher leaves you, drop a C4 and immediately detonate it. This gives you your recovery back, allowing you to recover up and over.
This is also useful if you decided to go for the stage anyways and got grabbed out of your recovery, though a bit more difficult because you will be falling the whole time.
When doing the C4 recovery, be prepared to tech the stage, in case you bounce off the bottom of the stage and also only LIGHTLY tap down on the analog stick so you do not fast fall while dropping and detonating the C4 because you will die.
Other uses:
It can be set on platforms for stage control or next to your mines, to trigger the mine and create a giant explosion. I recommend setting these in the air because it’s not as noticeable. (Random Fact: Sometimes he drops a butterfly shaped C3 that acts the same way but just looks different and you can’t really tell unless you zoom in when paused).
I use C4 often while coming from above the stage, more often as a deterrent.
It’s also very fun to use as an edgeguard. Say metaknight is coming from below to try to grab the ledge. I stand at the edge, jump twice, drop C4 and immediately after detonate the C4 while DIing back towards the center of the stage. It takes a while to get the timing of this down, but this move is a lot of fun when done right.
Though not extremely practical, it is very fun to stick C4 onto people, hit them upwards and then detonate the C4 for an early kill. Note that the C4 can stick back onto you (acts like a sticky mine) and can also randomly fall off of both you and your opponent).
Data:
C4 Out: Frame 15 (air), Frame 9 (air sticky), Frame 21 (ground), Frame 11 (ground sticky)
Hitbox Out: Frame 29
Base Damage: 17
Cypher (Up Special)
Description: Snake pulls out the cypher and basically flies up.
Try to avoid using this move if you’re falling. I often use cypher immediately after my 2nd jump so my upward momentum allows me to go higher and farther.
Only use this if you can recover up and over the stage. Otherwise, if you get grabbed and your opponent forces a grab release, you do NOT get your recovery back and will be forced to use the C4 recovery.
This move is great in that you do not suffer special free fall and can still attack. There are also super armor frames towards the beginning of this move. Note that afterwards, any attack that deals more than 8% will knock you out of the cypher.
Data:
Cypher Out: Frame 4
Hitbox Out: Frame 29 (not particularly useful)
Base Damage: 6%
Grenade (Neutral Special)
Description: Snake pulls out a grenade and chucks it.
Despite putting this last, this is probably the most important part of Snake’s game. Too bad you can only have two of these at once.
The grenade will explode 3 seconds after the grenade is pulled. (I must count really fast because I always count to four and my timing is usually spot on.)
You can do 3 different types of throws:
1) Far throw (control stick forward when releasing B)
2) Normal throw (control stick neutral when releasing B)
3) Lob (control stick back when releasing B) (useful for whacking a D-air camping MK)
Grenade techniques:
Shield Dropping: Pull out a grenade and shield (or air dodge). The grenade will fall at your feet. It can then be picked up and thrown like a normal item.
Grenade Defense: Hold a grenade and when your opponent attacks you, either shield or spot dodge so that they hit the grenade, while you remain safe.
Grenade Stripping (glitch): Shield drop a grenade and if any other grenade is in play, it will either fall from the opponents hand (if they picked it up) or fall directly where it is. This is useful for controlling where your grenades land and to prevent them from being used against you.
Glide Tossing: Initiate a roll while holding a grenade and immediately after smash the C-stick in a certain direction to throw the grenade in that direction (applies to other items as well).
Grenade Cooking: Pull out a grenade but do not throw it until the timer is almost up. Then quickly throw the grenade so it explodes in your opponent’s face.
A more creative use of this involves rolling past your opponent just as the grenade explodes, though the timing of this takes a lot of practice.
Grenade Chaining: Using the explosion of one grenade to detonate another grenade whose timer is not yet up.
This applies to all items, but if you do an aerial near the grenade, you will pick it up. For example, if I shield drop a grenade and full hop N-air, I will automatically pick up the grenade (I do this a lot).
Data:
Base Damage: 14% (explosion), 2% (whacking them with it)
Grabs and Throws
I almost exclusively choke a couple times (depending on %) and then D-throw because of Snake’s ability to tech chase.
You can respond to all of their options, but you just have to anticipate and read your opponent.
Options and responses are as follows:
1)Roll behind you
Responses: F-tilt, U-tilt, Jab, F-smash (if you anticipate it early), stick C4 onto them
2)Roll away from you
Responses: DACUS, dash attack, boost grab, dash grab
3)Get up attack
Responses: Shield the hit, regrab, and D-throw again. If they are dumb enough to keep doing this over and over, watch your shield and make sure it doesn’t break or they don’t shield poke you.
4)Wait
Responses: SH D-air, stick C4 onto them.
Snake also has an infinite D-throw chain grab, but only if you grab them at the very edge of the stage and buffer a grab.
Only against certain characters is it better to force a grab release and follow that up with something else, so I won’t cover that here.
Data:
D-Throw: 12%
U-Throw: 10%
B-Throw: 9%
F-Throw: 9%
Special Thanks:
I have only been playing Snake for about half a year and abit_rusty’s snake guide helped me tremendously when I first switched over to Snake so be sure to check it out. I used parts of it in writing my guide as well.
abit_rusty’s “Into the Fray: A Snake Survival Guide”
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=162635
I took the data from Eternal Yoshi’s post and it has much more in-depth data on knockback, knockback scaling, IASA frames, etc, so if you’re interested, be sure to check it out as well.
Eternal Yoshi’s data
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=258332
Though I did not use T*H*O*R’s guide in writing mine, I found it extremely helpful so I highly recommend this guide as well:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=163063
Solid Snake Guide
Pros:
High damage and Priority attacks
Heavyweight Character
Down-throw tech chase
Many tools for stage control/pressuring
Most projectiles (8: F-smash, U-smash, D-smash, Grenade, Nikita, Cypher, Box, C4)
Cons:
Horrible Air Game
Difficult to get back onto the stage
Very gimpable Recovery
No combos
Moveset
Jab (neutral A)
Description: Snake punches twice and then kicks while spinning around.
This move has incredibly high priority. (For example, if you hold A, it negates Jigglypuff’s Rollout.)
This is Snake’s fastest move so expect to use this move a lot. Due to stale move negation, this makes his jab not a reliable killing move if you keep using it, so try to save either Snake’s F-tilt or his U-tilt for kills. (If there is ever a part of a stage that can be attacked such as the vine in brinstar, use a move you don’t use much such as d-tilt to hit it, because this refreshes your other moves. Also keep in mind that dying refreshes everything as well).
Note that you can control the speed of the move by tapping A at different intervals, or just hold A and make Snake spazz out until he hits something.
Data:
Jab 1
Hitbox Out: Frame 3
Base Damage: 4%
Jab 2
Hitbox Out: Frame 4
Base Damage: 3%
Jab 3
Hitbox Out: Frame 10
Base Damage: 7%
F-Tilt
Description: Snake knees and then steps forward to whack the opponent.
The first hit locks the opponent, only if they are on the ground. If you knee an aerial approach, they just get launched. Most people will expect you to follow through with F-tilt 2 if you connected with F-tilt 1, so they will often not expect you to follow up F-Tilt 1 with either a jab combo or an U-tilt (to kill).
This is a great KO move, has great range, does massive amounts of damage for a move that comes out so quickly. I would recommend using this mainly to punish, because it is very easy to get grabbed out of F-tilt 1 due to its low shield push, especially if they powershield it.
Data:
F-tilt 1
Hitbox Out: Frame 4
Base Damage: 8%
F-tilt 2
Hitbox Out: Frame 6
Base Damage: 9-12%
U-Tilt
Description: Snake kicks upwards with an extremely disjointed hitbox.
Whoever programmed this must have wanted to break the game or was drunk. This move has high priority, great horizontal range (lol), and decent shield push, making it harder to punish.
This is a great KO move, so try to save this move. Lighter characters like Jigglypuff can be killed at around 80% w/o DI and heavyweights up to 120% (if it’s fresh).
This can also be used to juggle opponents at low percentages.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 6
Base Damage: 12-13%
D-Tilt
Description: Snake lays low to the ground and spins around in a circle while kicking his legs out in front of him.
To be honest, I rarely use this move, especially when I have Snake’s other close combat moves, but it does have its uses. If you anticipate an aerial, you can d-tilt to simultaneously dodge the aerial attack and hit the opponent as they land.
Another benefit of this move is that it will probably always be fresh, so if you are need of a killing move, this could come in handy, though it kills in the 120-150% range without DI for lightweight to heavyweight characters, respectively.
When using this move though, be sure not to crouch first, otherwise it is quite obvious which move you will use next.
I might as well cover crouching here. Snake is able to crawl, which is often helpful to avoid some projectiles such as Falco’s &#*@ing laser.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 6
Base Damage: 10%
Dash Attack
Description: Snake dives forward into a roll.
This move is great for punishing. This can also be canceled into an U-smash (DACUS) for stage coverage and to make this move even harder to punish. DACUS is done by initiating the dash attack and immediately slamming up on the C-stick (can also be charged). Note that DACUS w/o contact is significantly harder because you do not get the additional 10 frames during hit lag.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 5 (Strong), Frame 7 (Weak)
Base Damage: 32% (Strong), 28% (Weak)
F-smash
Description: Snake pulls out an RPG Launcher and shoots the ground directly in front of him.
Not very practical in a 1 v 1. This moves takes forever to come out and you will probably be punished for it. This can be used as an edgeguard, however, but Snake has so many other edgeguarding tools that have significantly higher chances of hitting so I would recommend you to stay away from this move.
One use this does have, is if you anticipate that your opponent will roll behind you after a down throw, you can immediately f-smash behind you.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 41
Base Damage: 22%
D-Smash
Description: Snake lays a mine.
Note that the longer you charge it, the less visible the mine will be and the more damage it will do. The mine also disappears from its original location if you either plant another one or wait for 25 seconds. Unless your opponent is dumb, they will know exactly where you planted it, but that is exactly the point. The mine is great for pressuring and controlling where your opponent moves.
If you use this move after you have scored a kill, your opponent will often use their invincibility frames to safely detonate it. One way around this is to either plant mines upon spawning, or to stand near the mine and make them go after you instead.
Also keep in mind that characters with large disjointed hitboxes or projectiles can often safely detonate the mine as well, so do not give them a chance to do so.
Do NOT plant your mines directly next to the ledge because your opponent can use the invincibility frames from the ledge attack to get rid of your mine.
Data:
Hitbox Out: 55 Frames After Planting (Almost a full second)
Base Damage: 14%
U-Smash
Description: Snake pulls out a mortar and fires it upwards.
If the opponent is standing next to you, the hit from Snake pulling out the mortar launcher puts them in position to be hit by the mortar.
I mainly use this move for DACUS, which I mentioned briefly in the Dash Attack section. DACUS can be used to follow up many moves and chase after your opponent. This is also a great edgeguard as you can DACUS to the edge of the stage and keep spamming these.
I’m pretty sure you cannot influence the trajectory of the mortar (whether it goes left or right), but I do know that the longer you charge it, the greater the chance of the mortar landing farther away from you.
If you have enough time, this is a great alternative to U-tilt because it keeps U-tilt fresh and gives you much more range. One significant downside to this move, is that it can be reflected back at you to deal significantly more damage, so do not use this move against characters with reflectors.
It is hard to hit with this move if they are on the ground next to you, so I will often grab them and try to time it so that I throw them into it. Another way to mix it up is to alternate between charged mortars and uncharged mortars so two mortars fall simultaneously.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 11(Launcher), Frame 29(Mortar)
Base Damage: 4% (Launcher), 10% (Mortar)
N-Air
Description: Snake kicks four times in front of him. This **** looks like it would hurt.
The first 3 kicks don’t have any knockback.
If you Short-Hop this move, the fourth kick will not come out, so you need to full hop it.
This move can also be DIed out of but don’t forget that you can move too during the move.
I try not to use this move much because of it’s fairly long landing lag (30 Frames).
Snake often has a hard time landing back onto the stage, so using this move as you try to recover serves as a great deterrent for your opponent to stay away from you and lets you get back onto the stage.
I will also use a full-hopped N-air if my opponent is grabbing the ledge and I anticipate that they will jump up from the ledge. (I picked this up from watching Ally’s videos). Also, be sure to fastfall it if you anticipated incorrectly.
It’s useful to note that you can full hop N-air while moving towards your opponent.
Data:
Kick 1
HitboxOut: Frame 10
Base Damage: 6%
Kick 2
HitboxOut: Frame 22
Base Damage: 5%
Kick 3
HitboxOut: Frame 34
Base Damage: 4%
Kick 4
HitboxOut: Frame 44
Base Damage: 13%
F-Air
Description: Snake does an axe kick in the air.
Snake’s only spike.
I generally avoid this move while on stage, due to the long windup and landing lag (30 Frames). Off-stage, however, this serves as a deadly spike if you sweetspot it, but even if you don’t, you can often get a star KO.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 23
Base Damage: 14-15%
B-Air
Description: Snake kicks both feet behind him.
This move’s hitbox stays out for quite a while and has hitboxes all the way up to his head. It’s a great edgeguard (jump off the stage and B-air) and because of how far the hitbox reaches, also useful to get back onto the stage.
However, keep in mind that there are 30 Frames of landing lag so you could be punished if you miss or mistime it. Not particularly useful for Reverse Aerial Rushing due to the same reason.
Though the hitbox closer to his head is stronger, try to space it so that only the tips of his feet connect to make it harder for your opponent to punish if they shield or spot dodge it.
I highly recommend that you use this move only when you can avoid belly-flopping because your opponent will definitely punish you for it.
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 7 (Fastest Aerial for Momentum canceling)
Base Damage: 14-16% (Strong), 10% (Weak)
U-Air
Description: Similar to B-Air, but Snake kicks upwards instead.
I definitely do not use this much as I should. Though this is a bit harder to connect with, this move has great knockback and serves as a reliable finisher.
It’s useful to jump and U-Air instead of U-Tilt or U-Smash because it comes fast, is often unexpected, and the hitbox stays out for a bit longer (also to keep your U-Tilt fresh).
Data:
Hitbox Out: Frame 10
Base Damage: 14% (Strong), 10% (Weak)
D-Air
Description: Snake stomps four times directly below him.
Similar to the N-air, the first 3 kicks do not have any knockback.
Unlike N-air, however, four kicks do come out in a short hop.
This move is extremely situational.
This is useful if your opponent is grabbing the ledge and you anticipate the roll or if you just used D-throw and they decide to not move.
You could probably find this out by playing a few games, but this is a HORRIBLE approach from above so do not do it.
Data:
Kick 1
Hitbox Out: Frame 3
Base Damage: 6%
Kick 2
Hitbox Out: Frame 14
Base Damage: 5%
Kick 3
Hitbox Out: Frame 25
Base Damage: 5%
Kick 4
Hitbox Out: Frame 36
Base Damage: 12%
Nikita (Side Special)
Description: Snake pulls out a Nikita launcher that can be remotely controlled.
I typically will only use this as an edgeguard because it has a rather long startup. The ability to drop the Nikita (by shielding) also comes in handy. For example, if I anticipate the opponent will roll towards me, I will drop the Nikita at that spot and still hit them, though this halves the damage dealt.
The Nikita can be deflected slightly off course depending on the strength of the attack or projectile used against it.
Note that when you change the direction of the Nikita missile yourself, the speed of the missile is severely diminished. This can be used to your advantage, however, to stall the missile in mid-air by rapidly changing directions. After a while, the Nikita will run out of fuel and simply fall. You cannot be hurt by the Nikita unless it is reflected.
Data:
Missile Out: Frame 43
Base Damage: 7% (when dropped), 14% normally
C4 (Down Special)
Description: Snake drops a C4 mine that he can remotely detonate it later.
Note that the C4 will automatically explode after 27 seconds.
C4 has a tremendous number of uses.
The biggest use for this move is the C4 recovery. If you are unable to recover up high and your only option to reach the stage is to grab the ledge, you will probably be better off using the C4 recovery. During the last bit right before your cypher leaves you, drop a C4 and immediately detonate it. This gives you your recovery back, allowing you to recover up and over.
This is also useful if you decided to go for the stage anyways and got grabbed out of your recovery, though a bit more difficult because you will be falling the whole time.
When doing the C4 recovery, be prepared to tech the stage, in case you bounce off the bottom of the stage and also only LIGHTLY tap down on the analog stick so you do not fast fall while dropping and detonating the C4 because you will die.
Other uses:
It can be set on platforms for stage control or next to your mines, to trigger the mine and create a giant explosion. I recommend setting these in the air because it’s not as noticeable. (Random Fact: Sometimes he drops a butterfly shaped C3 that acts the same way but just looks different and you can’t really tell unless you zoom in when paused).
I use C4 often while coming from above the stage, more often as a deterrent.
It’s also very fun to use as an edgeguard. Say metaknight is coming from below to try to grab the ledge. I stand at the edge, jump twice, drop C4 and immediately after detonate the C4 while DIing back towards the center of the stage. It takes a while to get the timing of this down, but this move is a lot of fun when done right.
Though not extremely practical, it is very fun to stick C4 onto people, hit them upwards and then detonate the C4 for an early kill. Note that the C4 can stick back onto you (acts like a sticky mine) and can also randomly fall off of both you and your opponent).
Data:
C4 Out: Frame 15 (air), Frame 9 (air sticky), Frame 21 (ground), Frame 11 (ground sticky)
Hitbox Out: Frame 29
Base Damage: 17
Cypher (Up Special)
Description: Snake pulls out the cypher and basically flies up.
Try to avoid using this move if you’re falling. I often use cypher immediately after my 2nd jump so my upward momentum allows me to go higher and farther.
Only use this if you can recover up and over the stage. Otherwise, if you get grabbed and your opponent forces a grab release, you do NOT get your recovery back and will be forced to use the C4 recovery.
This move is great in that you do not suffer special free fall and can still attack. There are also super armor frames towards the beginning of this move. Note that afterwards, any attack that deals more than 8% will knock you out of the cypher.
Data:
Cypher Out: Frame 4
Hitbox Out: Frame 29 (not particularly useful)
Base Damage: 6%
Grenade (Neutral Special)
Description: Snake pulls out a grenade and chucks it.
Despite putting this last, this is probably the most important part of Snake’s game. Too bad you can only have two of these at once.
The grenade will explode 3 seconds after the grenade is pulled. (I must count really fast because I always count to four and my timing is usually spot on.)
You can do 3 different types of throws:
1) Far throw (control stick forward when releasing B)
2) Normal throw (control stick neutral when releasing B)
3) Lob (control stick back when releasing B) (useful for whacking a D-air camping MK)
Grenade techniques:
Shield Dropping: Pull out a grenade and shield (or air dodge). The grenade will fall at your feet. It can then be picked up and thrown like a normal item.
Grenade Defense: Hold a grenade and when your opponent attacks you, either shield or spot dodge so that they hit the grenade, while you remain safe.
Grenade Stripping (glitch): Shield drop a grenade and if any other grenade is in play, it will either fall from the opponents hand (if they picked it up) or fall directly where it is. This is useful for controlling where your grenades land and to prevent them from being used against you.
Glide Tossing: Initiate a roll while holding a grenade and immediately after smash the C-stick in a certain direction to throw the grenade in that direction (applies to other items as well).
Grenade Cooking: Pull out a grenade but do not throw it until the timer is almost up. Then quickly throw the grenade so it explodes in your opponent’s face.
A more creative use of this involves rolling past your opponent just as the grenade explodes, though the timing of this takes a lot of practice.
Grenade Chaining: Using the explosion of one grenade to detonate another grenade whose timer is not yet up.
This applies to all items, but if you do an aerial near the grenade, you will pick it up. For example, if I shield drop a grenade and full hop N-air, I will automatically pick up the grenade (I do this a lot).
Data:
Base Damage: 14% (explosion), 2% (whacking them with it)
Grabs and Throws
I almost exclusively choke a couple times (depending on %) and then D-throw because of Snake’s ability to tech chase.
You can respond to all of their options, but you just have to anticipate and read your opponent.
Options and responses are as follows:
1)Roll behind you
Responses: F-tilt, U-tilt, Jab, F-smash (if you anticipate it early), stick C4 onto them
2)Roll away from you
Responses: DACUS, dash attack, boost grab, dash grab
3)Get up attack
Responses: Shield the hit, regrab, and D-throw again. If they are dumb enough to keep doing this over and over, watch your shield and make sure it doesn’t break or they don’t shield poke you.
4)Wait
Responses: SH D-air, stick C4 onto them.
Snake also has an infinite D-throw chain grab, but only if you grab them at the very edge of the stage and buffer a grab.
Only against certain characters is it better to force a grab release and follow that up with something else, so I won’t cover that here.
Data:
D-Throw: 12%
U-Throw: 10%
B-Throw: 9%
F-Throw: 9%
Special Thanks:
I have only been playing Snake for about half a year and abit_rusty’s snake guide helped me tremendously when I first switched over to Snake so be sure to check it out. I used parts of it in writing my guide as well.
abit_rusty’s “Into the Fray: A Snake Survival Guide”
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=162635
I took the data from Eternal Yoshi’s post and it has much more in-depth data on knockback, knockback scaling, IASA frames, etc, so if you’re interested, be sure to check it out as well.
Eternal Yoshi’s data
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=258332
Though I did not use T*H*O*R’s guide in writing mine, I found it extremely helpful so I highly recommend this guide as well:
http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=163063
