Spike hitboxes

[VeteranUnderdog]

Ever since i started playing smash 4, i noticed spikes are very hard to land. Is there a way to be consistent with spiking/meteor smashing? If i ever land a dair off stage it generally only turns into a horizontal hitbox, i find it very hard to get it on the tip for almost every character. Haven't played that much competitive but i have been very invested in the community these past 6 months. (Generally just 1v1s with my friend)

 

[Doval]

If i ever land a dair off stage it generally only turns into a horizontal hitbox, i find it very hard to get it on the tip for almost every character.

Every move is different, and many don't have anything to do with hitting with the tip. Some examples off the top of my head: Mega Man's d-air only meteors during the early frames when the fist is still close; Mario's f-air requires you to hit while the fist is in front of him; Samus and Marth/Lucina's d-air require hitting while the arm/sword is directly below them; Falco's requires hitting with the start of the move; Captain Falcon's and Ganondorf's will pretty much always meteor. I might've gotten some of the details wrong, but the point is every move is different.

 

[NotAnAdmin]

They all have different timings in between the sweet spots and the timing required to spike like @ D Doval said, it's all just practice and a good read.

Falco's spike hitbox comes out right as he kicks out his leg. The main issue with that is Falco takes about a solid second to throw his leg out.

 

[Xermo]

Mega Man's d-air only meteors during the early frames when the fist is still close;

Hard Knuckle meteors during the latter half of the move, not the start.

 

[Doval]

Hard Knuckle meteors during the latter half of the move, not the start.

Good catch.

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Knowing that all meteor smash attacks meteor in different ways, try beating up on a dummy in training mode. When you spike something in Smash 4, there's a distinctive sound effect to listen for. Keep hitting stationary characters until you can lock down what part of the move spikes.

To add to the list, some moves only meteor a target that is airborne. Not on the ground. I believe King Dedede and Mewtwo's Dairs behave this way.

 

[Raijinken]

As a former Marth main, I agree. But on the whole, I don't find the rest of them very difficult.

 

[VeteranUnderdog]

Cheers everyone, i guess i just have to be more precise with the timing then.