Steps to Improving Your Skill!

[Prince Longstrok]

Hey!

I love Smash just as much as the rest of you, infact enough to get it tattooed onto my body. However, when it comes to playing, I am...well.. not the greatest. Around the time of 2.6b coming out I finally learned what Wavedashing and L-canceling and such even was- so you can imagine that even now I am still learning new things.

What I am looking to ask is what are some ways to improve my game? Beating a lvl 9 CPU is pretty meaningless, but I have seen posts saying that you should "Not try to beat them, rather learn how those characters play and how to tech and match up against them." For instance, punishing a resting Jiggs will not help you, but waking her up with a jab and getting the timing down perfectly for NOT getting hit is good practice.


I am still in the habit of rolling (I know I know!), though I do try and practice wavedashing. As of right now, I use it as a way to cancel a dash, ATTEMPT to back away far enough to avoid an attack and then punish, and rarely to edgehog (Ive SD's too many times and now usually just short hop to edge guard).

I have a decent amount of Smash playing friends in the area, but I cant exactly have them over all the time to practice- so, What are some tips in getting better while solo? I have the will to learn, and when I lose to my friends Ness (Who is pretty good, a very nice challenge) When he wins I dont go "Damn, Ness is OP or cheap", I think "****, I should have countered and punished better, I need to improve badly"- So, Im not a real salty player per say

Please, leave your tips on practicing while solo! I would greatly appreciate it

 

[turtletank]

What kind of tattoo?

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Still in progress, but this is the concept art.

Also, I like hwo the only response is to the tattoo, not the topic xD

 

[Comatose]

Try to play against humans, rather than cpus as much as possible. I know its hard, but still. Against cpus, try punishing your own bad habits (for example, killing yourself every time you roll when you shouldn't), and try integrating one tech at a time into your play (for example, work l cancels in until you're completely comfortable with it and do it almost unconsciously, and then add onto that with other techs).

Oh, and for that tattoo, you should put sakurai there instead

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Try to play against humans, rather than cpus as much as possible. I know its hard, but still. Against cpus, try punishing your own bad habits (for example, killing yourself every time you roll when you shouldn't), and try integrating one tech at a time into your play (for example, work l cancels in until you're completely comfortable with it and do it almost unconsciously, and then add onto that with other techs).

Oh, and for that tattoo, you should put sakurai there instead

So, make it a little game then? maybe like "beat this Ness without getting hit by PK fire once?" o:!

And haha! As you can see, I am a die hard GoW fan, but also Love smash. I wanted to integrate the two together Its my goal to someday find someone to make a Zeus skin for Gannondorf xP

 

[Comatose]

So, make it a little game then? maybe like "beat this Ness without getting hit by PK fire once?" o:!

And haha! As you can see, I am a die hard GoW fan, but also Love smash. I wanted to integrate the two together Its my goal to someday find someone to make a Zeus skin for Gannondorf xP

If you're after a skin, Theytah makes some nice ones! And yeah basically make it a training game. Maybe not like "dont get hit by X once" but like "successfully punish/avoid/minimize damage/etc." So for the PK fire example, maybe practice wavedashing out of range, or powershielding, or smash DI out if you get caught. Stuff like that.

 

[Prince Longstrok]

If you're after a skin, Theytah makes some nice ones! And yeah basically make it a training game. Maybe not like "dont get hit by X once" but like "successfully punish/avoid/minimize damage/etc." So for the PK fire example, maybe practice wavedashing out of range, or powershielding, or smash DI out if you get caught. Stuff like that.

Would he take requests? o:

And hmm.. I see I see.
And, I tend to browse the forums and reddit when on break at work, and I believe I saw the best way to DI out of fire is to use the C stick apaprently?

 

[ZexM]

Ok, this is something I've showed other players who don't have all the access to human players, like myself, get better quickly. It's a bit of a process to explain, but I hope it will help you and keep you up playing for hrs so you can improve! So please bear with me.

This training method was inspired by Jet li's character in "The Fist of Fury" teaching students about adapting a "Fighting Mode". Advance tactics are nice and all, but until they become second nature and you learn how to adapt quickly there is will be no progress. This is especially true if you do not have a good understanding of Smash fundamentals and character specific fundamentals. This I'm sure you already know, but practicing to make it perfect before fighting a human is tedious work. CPU lv9's are no big deal on their own, but they do put on enough pressure that you can practice applying offensive, defensive and opportunist tactics. What most players do not do is change the speed of combat. It's simple:

Go through the entire roster and play like this (this will take a long time, so you will always have something to do )

*Route A
1) Select Characters
2) Play regular fight (4 Stock 8min)
3) Choose a stage (Final Destination or Battlefield. The stage you choose will be important later)
4) Fight! Win!!
5) Route B/C
Now if you win you can move on to Route B. If you loose do the same fight again, except lower the challenge rating by 1. Until you beat that challenge rating 3 times consecutively (no losses in between) can you move up and fight the next level. Once you do beat the next level ( lv9 ideally) move on to Rout B. If you are returning from Route B and just finished Rout A for the 2nd time move on to Route C. If you are returning from Route C and just finished Route A, play Route A again but with the alternative stage. If you have finished both run-throughs with both stages (A,B,A,C,A) you will start the process over again with a different CPU character from the roster that you have not selected yet.

*Route B
1) Go to Special Fight (Melee/Brawl/Project M)
2) Play in Slo-Mo mode ONLY
3) Choose the previous stage picked in Route A
4) Fight! Win!! (If you win return to Route A)
You must play Slo-Mo mode before you play Lightning mode. This is because Slo-Mo mode is suppose to teach you how to think several moves ahead of the computer, regardless of how predicable they are by now. That is the point. If the computer is predicable then you have all the time in the world to abuse it. However, it will also train you to do your attacks when you need to instead of timing it wrongly. you'll be surprised how often you'll over shoot your attacks before you get use to taking your time and punishing your opponent hard. This will also give you the opportunity to try out your new advance tactics in a more forgiving environment (but be careful not to let the speed spoil your timing). Slo-Mo teaches perfection and to be cool and collected when thinking about your tactics. No reason to rush, no even at regular speed. You must win at least 1 time in Route B before you can continue back to Route A.

*Route C
1) Go to Special Fight (Melee/Brawl/Project M)
2) Play in Lightning Mode ONLY
3) Choose the previous stage picked in Route A
4) Fight! Win!! (If you win return to Route A)
You must play Lightning mode after you play Slo-Mo mode. This is because Lightning Mode is suppose to teach you how to think on your feet and to get out of your head. It tests second nature Smash instincts and not studies of frame data you have jumbled up in your head. It will put all your practice to the test with no room to breath. The pressure is on when there is no room for mistakes. This will be your chance to test your fluidity in your advance tactics as well as what you learned in Slo-Mo mode, if you can think fast enough to out match your opponent. Lastly it will test your ability to maintain momentum and to get out of juggling situations as quickly and effectively as possible. You must win at least 1 time in Route C before you continue back to Route A.

So, as you can see, this is a lot of fighting. But it will make you hard. This will get tedious, as I said before, BUT one thing it will not be is stagnant. This can only be achieved if you do it in the correct order. Not reversed or flip-flopped whenever you want. A,B,A,C,A, Restart. The constant shift of speed will mess with your eyes, causing you to have to judge your movie differently. That's why you fight Route A regular, then Route B Slo-Mo, then A again at regular speed to let your eyes readjust to the speed. It will be a crazy difference, even if just by a little. You will see the difference. The from there you will go to Route C on Lightning mode to test your newly refined strategies to then mold them into instinct. The speed will be crazy, but if you want to win you'll keep up. Then back to A again to readjust and see how mush you've improved because now everything seems to be in slow motion.This is what Jet Li describes as a "Fighting Mode": when the world of combat moves in slow motion so you can react with the correct instinct.

If you do this strait with every character individually with no mistakes on Lv9 on both Battlefield and Final Destination:
If you are playing Melee that will be 250 fights.
If you are playing Brawl that will be 360 fights.
If you are playing Project M that will be 1025 fights.
You will never run out of fights. You will have learned with careful study every enemy's capability and last how to counter a generically effective play style at 3 different speeds of play at the highest CPU difficulty. On top of applying your personal growth. You will learn how to control your character better, how to utilize your foundations and will have plenty of chances to test your advance techniques. This will teach you to go for the win, period.

If you want to spice this training up a bit, after you finish the whole exercise with one CPU enemy on both stages add another CPU and do it all again (team attack on). Finished all 10 fights of 1v2? Do it again as a 1v3.

I hope this helped. It is simple and can be over-complicated very easily. Every player has a "Fighting Mode" they go into when they play, it just gets hampered against humans. They are the best teachers, but this is the next best thing. Wu Shu masters had dummies. You have CPU's. Put them to work!

 

[ZexM]

you could also play keep away. 4 stock 8min. just avoid the attacks and advances as much as possible. Beat the 8min clock. Beat the sudden death clock. Become untouchable. Practice perfect/power shielding, aid dodging correctly, roll dodging appropriately, side stepping/spot dodging effectively, recovering without punishment.

 

[Prince Longstrok]

Ok, this is something I've showed other players who don't have all the access to human players, like myself, get better quickly. It's a bit of a process to explain, but I hope it will help you and keep you up playing for hrs so you can improve! So please bear with me.

This training method was inspired by Jet li's character in "The Fist of Fury" teaching students about adapting a "Fighting Mode". Advance tactics are nice and all, but until they become second nature and you learn how to adapt quickly there is will be no progress. This is especially true if you do not have a good understanding of Smash fundamentals and character specific fundamentals. This I'm sure you already know, but practicing to make it perfect before fighting a human is tedious work. CPU lv9's are no big deal on their own, but they do put on enough pressure that you can practice applying offensive, defensive and opportunist tactics. What most players do not do is change the speed of combat. It's simple:

Go through the entire roster and play like this (this will take a long time, so you will always have something to do )

*Route A
1) Select Characters
2) Play regular fight (4 Stock 8min)
3) Choose a stage (Final Destination or Battlefield. The stage you choose will be important later)
4) Fight! Win!!
5) Route B/C
Now if you win you can move on to Route B. If you loose do the same fight again, except lower the challenge rating by 1. Until you beat that challenge rating 3 times consecutively (no losses in between) can you move up and fight the next level. Once you do beat the next level ( lv9 ideally) move on to Rout B. If you are returning from Route B and just finished Rout A for the 2nd time move on to Route C. If you are returning from Route C and just finished Route A, play Route A again but with the alternative stage. If you have finished both run-throughs with both stages (A,B,A,C,A) you will start the process over again with a different CPU character from the roster that you have not selected yet.

*Route B
1) Go to Special Fight (Melee/Brawl/Project M)
2) Play in Slo-Mo mode ONLY
3) Choose the previous stage picked in Route A
4) Fight! Win!! (If you win return to Route A)
You must play Slo-Mo mode before you play Lightning mode. This is because Slo-Mo mode is suppose to teach you how to think several moves ahead of the computer, regardless of how predicable they are by now. That is the point. If the computer is predicable then you have all the time in the world to abuse it. However, it will also train you to do your attacks when you need to instead of timing it wrongly. you'll be surprised how often you'll over shoot your attacks before you get use to taking your time and punishing your opponent hard. This will also give you the opportunity to try out your new advance tactics in a more forgiving environment (but be careful not to let the speed spoil your timing). Slo-Mo teaches perfection and to be cool and collected when thinking about your tactics. No reason to rush, no even at regular speed. You must win at least 1 time in Route B before you can continue back to Route A.

*Route C
1) Go to Special Fight (Melee/Brawl/Project M)
2) Play in Lightning Mode ONLY
3) Choose the previous stage picked in Route A
4) Fight! Win!! (If you win return to Route A)
You must play Lightning mode after you play Slo-Mo mode. This is because Lightning Mode is suppose to teach you how to think on your feet and to get out of your head. It tests second nature Smash instincts and not studies of frame data you have jumbled up in your head. It will put all your practice to the test with no room to breath. The pressure is on when there is no room for mistakes. This will be your chance to test your fluidity in your advance tactics as well as what you learned in Slo-Mo mode, if you can think fast enough to out match your opponent. Lastly it will test your ability to maintain momentum and to get out of juggling situations as quickly and effectively as possible. You must win at least 1 time in Route C before you continue back to Route A.

So, as you can see, this is a lot of fighting. But it will make you hard. This will get tedious, as I said before, BUT one thing it will not be is stagnant. This can only be achieved if you do it in the correct order. Not reversed or flip-flopped whenever you want. A,B,A,C,A, Restart. The constant shift of speed will mess with your eyes, causing you to have to judge your movie differently. That's why you fight Route A regular, then Route B Slo-Mo, then A again at regular speed to let your eyes readjust to the speed. It will be a crazy difference, even if just by a little. You will see the difference. The from there you will go to Route C on Lightning mode to test your newly refined strategies to then mold them into instinct. The speed will be crazy, but if you want to win you'll keep up. Then back to A again to readjust and see how mush you've improved because now everything seems to be in slow motion.This is what Jet Li describes as a "Fighting Mode": when the world of combat moves in slow motion so you can react with the correct instinct.

If you do this strait with every character individually with no mistakes on Lv9 on both Battlefield and Final Destination:
If you are playing Melee that will be 250 fights.
If you are playing Brawl that will be 360 fights.
If you are playing Project M that will be 1025 fights.
You will never run out of fights. You will have learned with careful study every enemy's capability and last how to counter a generically effective play style at 3 different speeds of play at the highest CPU difficulty. On top of applying your personal growth. You will learn how to control your character better, how to utilize your foundations and will have plenty of chances to test your advance techniques. This will teach you to go for the win, period.

If you want to spice this training up a bit, after you finish the whole exercise with one CPU enemy on both stages add another CPU and do it all again (team attack on). Finished all 10 fights of 1v2? Do it again as a 1v3.

I hope this helped. It is simple and can be over-complicated very easily. Every player has a "Fighting Mode" they go into when they play, it just gets hampered against humans. They are the best teachers, but this is the next best thing. Wu Shu masters had dummies. You have CPU's. Put them to work!

Wow, that is some serious training /bow

Will try this out! :D

 

[ZexM]

Wow, that is some serious training /bow

Will try this out! :D

*scratches back of head* its not big deal. Happy training. Please let me know if it helps you at all

 

[Comatose]

Would he take requests? o:

And hmm.. I see I see.
And, I tend to browse the forums and reddit when on break at work, and I believe I saw the best way to DI out of fire is to use the C stick apaprently?

He has an entire thread devoted to requests!
And yeah the C-Stick provides ASDI (automatic smash di) which moves your character slightly while in hitstun (only one movement though). Smash DI in tandem with ASDI helps you get out faster than just ASDI, but is a bit more involved