Steps to being unpredictable

[DippnDots]

1. Changing up your "flow", pace, rhythm, whatever you want to call it:

This can be done in a variety of ways, asymmetrical dash dancing (not going back in forth between the two same points on the stage), wavelanding back to the ledge after a series of ledge stalls, or simply just stopping and waiting. The power of waiting in a match can be excruciating to people, consider you're going full speed with ganon, not missing any opportunities to make him move just slightly faster (dashing immediately after a shffl, edge cancels, wavelands, etc). Your opponent is going to come to expect that you'll always be doing something IMMEDIATELY. When you change up your speed on them even for just a small moment, it can completely throw off their timing, which in a lot of cases, if they've attacked, gives ganon enough time to punish.

If you play in the same time frame an entire match, it's not going to be hard for your opponent to offset themselves from your timing so that they have prime opportunities to punish you.

2. Tech chase habits:

Tech chasing is an intense rock paper scissors with one exception, if you use the right moves you won't be able to get punished when they tech the other way. At the beginning of a match, it's pretty unnerving to try and figure out which way someone is going to tech first. Luckily ganon has an attack for each tech spot.

Because of this, when learning how to tech chase it's best to figure out first and foremost, where those three tech spots are in relation to where they're gonna land. Once you have this sort of mental note, tech chasing doesn't become following someones tech but rather guessing where they are going to end up and dropping a hitbox onto that spot when they would have come out of the tech.

My only tip on being unpredictable in your tech chasing is not trying to guess where someone is going to end up based solely on what they've done already. IE, he teched away last time, he might tech in place or back because he thinks i'll chase him forward, so after i throw him i'll just jump up wait to bair whichever he does. However, because you made no move forward and jumped in the air, he ends up just teching away again back to safety. Reading DI can be a heavy indicator on where someone will tech. And as always, you could just pull a wife and look at their controller.

For tech chasing, it's honestly better to guess the wrong spot and whiff completely than to get so caught up in trying to figure out where they will end up that you throw something out late and get punished for it.


But to be truly unpredictable, you have to listen to "Breaking the Habit" twenty four times a day.

 

[RestInPeace]

Looking at the guy's controller. Sounds fun.

 

[DippnDots]

personally I think it's cheating but there's no rule against it.

 

[Skyshroud]

My only tip on being unpredictable in your tech chasing is not trying to guess where someone is going to end up based solely on what they've done already. IE, he teched away last time, he might tech in place or back because he thinks i'll chase him forward, so after i throw him i'll just jump up wait to bair whichever he does. However, because you made no move forward and jumped in the air, he ends up just teching away again back to safety. Reading DI can be a heavy indicator on where someone will tech. And as always, you could just pull a wife and look at their controller.

I wanted to add something to this. I've noticed some of the people I play (Taki) tech the same way in response to a situation over and over until I punish it. Personally, I feel like if you only have a bit of info, you should guess that way. In a way, you're sort of making them prove that they can react differently before you actually try and punish differently. If they never do anything else, they are going to (most likely) lose.

I feel like this also works in reverse too. If I tech a move the same way and they don't punish me for it, there's no reason to stop. Make them prove that they can punish your tech before you try being unpredictable. It also helps maintain your unpredictability longer once you actually attempt it, since you have a set pattern (i.e. the same thing) early that will not give them any information about your actual patterns.

One thing I will say though is that this may or may not work based on the level of respect for a person's game. The reason I let Taki get away with teching predictably a lot is because I know he is better than me, so I expect him to play smarter. Forcing them to punish you for something only works if you command respect as well. If someone assumes you are a scrub, they will treat you like one and assume you won't play any different, which causes you to get punished. It's kind of like how you watch some good players do things that shouldn't work. Often times they work because someone expected them to make a "better" decision.

Kinda talking theory out of my *** though. Anyone have any comments on this and whether or not it works/doesn't for them?

 

[TresChikon]

Sometimes I DI inwards and tech away when they try to read my tech based on DI, but then Ganon could just jab...or regrab.

Ganon is too good.

 

[zBOREDOMKINGz]

I noticed I do that too.
I just tech in place or stay there until they punish and once they punish I do something else. And return to not moving and then mix it up.
Basically bringing back what I got punished for after I do it.
I haven't gotten my tech chasing down with Ganon yet.
Like I don't try to to it now that I think about it.

 

[PaperstSoapCo]

Why not be predictable and accurate? Sometimes people get overwhelmed with the knowledge their opponent has on them that they forget the power of their basic strategies. Trading anything is good and when you put yourself in a situation when you can trade or win it really is win win. An example of playing predictable is Using CC's to jab. Low percents this can be good and could have been the result of you missing a aerial. Puting yourself in a situation where you could even take a light hit to get one of your moves in or traded is a good thing cause Ganon is heavy. Play predicable and accurate when different doesn't work. You'd be surprised how off people get on their game.

 

[DippnDots]

I didn't mean to imply using textbook techniques(?) that work is a bad habit. But in a lot of cases such as edge recovery, tech chasing, and spacing, being predictable will simply get you in trouble. It's essential to play the game that works for ganon in any given match up, but to pull something clutch a lot of times you have to step outside of what works and make something unexpected work. It's a good thing to play a solid game because then when you do try something unorthodox it's not as expected. I've been meaning to elaborate more on that post but i just havent found much time yet.

 

[Doc71890]

i agree completely with the tempo change info, and the "breaking the habbit" training technique is legit as well.

 

[spider_sense]

Here's a question for you guys. How do you get keep yourself composed throughout a match. Does anybody here choke a lot and does it severely cut into your game? Or do you hesitate it certain situation or second guess yourself? If so? Do you know how to get around it? Someone told me the best way to get around choking and to ease the tension in any match is to trash talk. Or if you're not into that type of thing, do you not let the situation bother you and reflect on what you've learned in friendlies, MM, and any other past matches before the one you're doing now?