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Spot Dodge After DSDI Tech

Sycorax

Smash Ace
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
502
Location
Atlanta, GA
You can use spot dodge after a DSDI tech to prevent yourself from falling off the stage. It keeps you on stage longer giving more time for friction to slow you down. Here is what it looks like.
Notice that Falco's velocity at the end of the tech roll was 2.82 and after the spot dodge was 1.06, about a 62% reduction in speed. The speed reduction will be different for each character, but this does work with every character.

To do this, hold shield during the tech. At the end of the tech, press down with the control stick. This will buffer a spot dodge for 4 frames. You cannot use the cstick because that requires you to shield for 1 frame which will cause you to slide off. You cannot do a roll with the control stick or with the cstick either because all rolls require you to shield for 1 frame which will cause you to slide off.

This is not a better option than fastfalling to grab ledge after the tech roll. If you are going too fast for that to work, however, spot dodge may be a reasonable option. In most situations, this won't matter because your opponent will still be able to hit you before you end your roll, but it may save you in that one rare instance.
 

magicsixball

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jan 5, 2016
Messages
24
Awesome post with a great explanation. I knew you could do this with normals for the same effect, but never seen the spot dodge option. Are the inputs for normals bufferable as well, or is spot dodging an easier window to hit? And if you wanted to fastfall after the tech roll, the earliest you could do it is first frame you're offstage yeah? Wondering if spotdodging is an easier window to hit than your other options.
 
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Sycorax

Smash Ace
Joined
Jul 7, 2014
Messages
502
Location
Atlanta, GA
Are the inputs for normals bufferable as well, or is spot dodging an easier window to hit?
Normals are not bufferable. Next to nothing is bufferable in Melee and everything that is bufferable is not an A or B button press. Most directional inputs with the control stick buffer in many situations; techs buffer (they are one of the only few true buffers, most everything else could more accurately be described as "flooding the input"); You can buffer OoS options with cstick; you can buffer dthrow with the cstick; L cancels are buffered. There are likely more I am forgetting but that about covers it.

As far as I know, spotdodge is the only bufferable input after tech in place that will prevent you from sliding off.
if you wanted to fastfall after the tech roll, the earliest you could do it is first frame you're offstage yeah?
The earliest frame you character can start fastfalling after slipping off the platform is the second airborne frame. Fastfall inputs buffer for 4 frames regardless of whether you're on stage or off. So when you actually input and when you start FFing are sorta different.
 

Uzzi

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 8, 2016
Messages
39
The earliest frame you character can start fastfalling after slipping off the platform is the second airborne frame. Fastfall inputs buffer for 4 frames regardless of whether you're on stage or off. So when you actually input and when you start FFing are sorta different.
To do this, hold shield during the tech. At the end of the tech, press down with the control stick. This will buffer a spot dodge for 4 frames.
Do these inputs overlap? To my understanding, you press down within the last 4 frames of the roll, and if you ff 2 frames after sliding off, then isn't there a 2 frame window where the spot dodge will over rule the fast fall?
 

tauKhan

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
1,349
You can't spot-dodge in the air. And you can already ff on the 2nd aerial frame, not 2 frames after, which would be the 3rd frame.
 
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Bones0

Smash Legend
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
11,153
Location
Jarrettsville, MD
Am I correct in assuming that once you spotdodge, you can continue to spotdodge repeatedly to prevent yourself from sliding to the ledge?
 

tauKhan

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
1,349
Yes. Ofc, still can't afford shield -> c-stick spot-dodge if you have a lot of speed left.
 
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