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Data The Comprehensive Guide to Link's AT's

Fox Is Openly Deceptive

Smash Detective
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BRoomer
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The Comprehensive Guide to Link's Advanced Techniques

Hey. Foxy here.

I am proud to present to you my new favourite thread. Before you jump ahead, there are a few things that you should be aware of.

Some of you may not know what on earth a Keaton Quiz is. If you already know, then feel free to skip this paragraph. If you don't know you can always look it up, but basically Keatons are foxes from the Zelda universe. In Majora's Mask they would appear and give you quizzes and if you answered correctly you would get a piece of heart. Well me being a Fox on the Link boards, it sort of made sense and I had a lot of fun with it. I've used quotes from the game to make things more authentic. And that makes you a child. So lol.

The next thing I want to make you aware of is the fact that I've gone for a quality over quantity approach, meaning that I will not be mentioning any AT's that don't require character specific explanations or notes or any that I simply deem to be either too obvious or too simple. I'm talking about stuff like U-smash/Up-B/bomb throw OoS, and Z-catching. This sort of thing is assumed knowledge as well as all the terms and jargon used throughout this thread. For all that stuff, go to the smash dictionary.

Finally I want to have a brief word about how you should use this thread. If you want to learn more about your character, then you've come to the right place. If you want to be a better player, then what you're after is a guide, not an AT thread. Fancy tricks can never be a replacement for poor fundamentals.
I'll list a few general guides in the spoiler below, just note that some of them are from Brawl. If you want to improve your fundamentals, these threads would be a good place to start.

Oh, and if you have any suggestions for future keaton quiz questions, then feel free to post them.

Without further ado, here's the quiz. And remember child, make sure there is plenty of light when you read and don't stare at the screen for too long.


Keaton Quiz!


Hee-hee-ho! Hello, child.
I see that somebody has
given you a Keaton mask.

If you are attempting to fool me,
it is impossible.

We Keatons can recognise our
own by the shine of our reflectors.

But you're a good child...
Let me put you to a test.

Bombs

Answer me this...
Pick one of the three choices...

How many characters including unlockable ones were playable in smash 64?

8
Have you even played smash 64? You really are a child, aren't you?

10
Did you count them on your fingers and run out?

12
Hee-hee-ho!
Good! Very good!
Take this prize!

Z-drop techs

Z-Drop
Description: Link will drop a Bomb in the air. So long as the Bomb is purposefully dropped and so long as the Bomb remains 'active' (which just means that it will explode if it touches an enemy hurtbox), then regardless of whether Zair comes out at the same time or not, this is a Z-drop.
How to Perform: While holding a Bomb, make sure the joystick is in neutral and hit the grab button in mid-air.
Note: As has been alluded to, it is possible to Z-drop a Bomb without Zair coming out. In order to do this, you must hit the grab button (while holding a Bomb) immediately following: a SH or FH (known as an 'instant z-drop'), a Ledge jump (known as a 'ledge jump z-drop'), a Footstool, an Aerial, hitstun or the tumble state (depending on how much knockback you receive), being trumped, dropping through a platform, or you must hit the grab button just before an edge cancel, during a skid followed by falling off the edge, on the frame before grabbing the ledge, or on the first landing frame.

Instant Z-Drop
Description: Link will Z-drop a Bomb without Zair coming out as he leaves the ground from jumping.
How to Perform: While holding a Bomb, press the Jump button, then as Link is coming out of the 'jump squat' animation and just before he actually leaves the ground (frame 7 of the jump-squat animation), press the Grab button while keeping the joystick in neutral.
Note: Yes, you only have a 1 frame window to do this on. If you hit grab on frame 6 you'll get a JC throw, and if you hit grab on frame 8 you'll get the usual Zair + Z-drop. If you re-catch the Bomb with an aerial immediately after dropping it, this would be an IZAC. If you Z-drop the Bomb within the opponent's hurtbox, the Bomb will explode on the following frame, and since Z-dropping is lagless and the Bomb explosion doesn't hurt you when activated by an opponent's hurtbox, this leaves you free to combo out of the Bomb explosion with an aerial or a footstool (which can lead into a Nair Lock).

Ledge Jump Z-drop
https://youtu.be/dx8mtwxpAwI
Description
: Link will do a ledge jump and leave behind a Z-dropped Bomb without doing Zair while in the ledge jump animation.
How to Perform: While holding a Bomb, hang on to the ledge, press the Jump button then immediately hit the Grab button making sure the joystick is in neutral. Unlike the Instant Z-drop, the timing for hitting Grab to Z-drop the bomb is very easy. It can be done instantly after hitting jump or while Link is in the middle of his flip animation so long as his hands are still on the ledge and of course anywhere in-between. Regardless of your timing, the bomb will always be dropped on the exact same frame, the frame that Link's hands leave the ledge.
Note: Ledge jump Z-drops can be useful for dropping a bomb off-stage to hit people who are recovering behind you while you get off the ledge which can potentially stage spike them, or to hit people who are simply standing too close to the edge when you ledge jump. As the video indicates it is most effective when used after tethering to the ledge as you can act immediately after grabbing the ledge from a tether and the ledge jump can be buffered to ensure very easy frame perfection.

Airdodge Cancelled Z-Drop
Description: Link will cancel the initial frames of an airdodge into a Z-drop resulting in the Bomb being dropped behind him rather than in front on him.
How to Perform: While holding a Bomb, Airdodge, then immediately hit the grab button (or alternatively hold the airdodge button and immediately hit the attack button).
Note: The use of this tech is clearly going to be rather limited as you are basically resigning yourself to the lag of airdodge all for the sake of Z-dropping the Bomb slightly differently. There are some uses for this tech however. The first is for being able to z-drop a bomb much sooner than normal after an airdodge. Normally you cannot z-drop a bomb after an airdodge until the animation is completely over. Trying to do so will result in a bomb throw. However, if you airdodge, then the moment you can act you do another airdodge, then immediately cancel that second airdodge with a z-drop, this is a way of getting around the problem. It can be used to cover landings as a means of getting a hitbox out instantly after an airdodge that will remain active as you land while it bounces. This can potentially save you, but it should not be used haphazardly because if your opponent simply shields out of a run you will leave yourself open for a potentially greater punishment. One other use is simply to z-drop a bomb onto a platform as you run off it. This takes advantage of the fact that the bomb is dropped behind you rather than in front of you.

C4
Description: Link will Z-drop a Bomb close enough to the ground such that it won't explode when it lands and instead will bounce and eventually come to a rest, at which point it will be inactive and eventually explode due to the fuse running out.
How to Perform 1: Hit the grab button with the joystick in neutral at a height below or up to somewhere between a SH and a FH.
How to Perform 2: Fall through a platform, quickly return the joystick to neutral, and Z-drop the Bomb as soon as you can. It should land perfectly on the platform.
Note: There are a few reasons why you'd want to do a C4. First of all there is the possibility of using it to combo out of the blast caused by the fuse running out. Or perhaps your opponent may perceive the Bomb sitting there as a threat that will make them think twice about approaching until it's gone, giving you a chance to set up. The C4 can also be used at the start of an opponent's fresh stock to give them something to do while their invincibility runs out; because some people can't resist a free item, especially if it lets them do that one tech they've been waiting to do but have been otherwise unable to do, only to find out that they have a second or two to do it before it explodes. Once you have the Bomb on the ground you can choose to pick it back up with a quick aerial then follow up with a bomb throw or even with another Z-drop out of the end of the aerial before you land. This allows you to do things like multiple SH Bairs while holding a Bomb. The C4'd Bomb can also be used as a temporary shield against certain projectiles because the Bomb has a small amount of health (6%) it can use to absorb attacks before it is forced to explode.

Lagless C4
Description: Link will Z-drop a bomb just as he lands and be able to act instantly.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb, Jump, make sure your joystick is in neutral, then the very moment before Link's feet touch the ground, hit the grab button.
Note: This bypasses the lag you would normally receive from a Zair. To make sure you're timing it right, hold the grab button; if you shield the very moment that you hit the grab button then you're doing it right. If there is even the slightest delay, then you're hitting it too early, and if you land and throw the bomb you're hitting it too late. Used defensively this is a great tool as it allows you to cover your landings by instantly shielding and putting an active hitbox out in front of you. Used offensively by landing right up against the opponent, there is the same potential for combos as with the Instant Z-drop, though for some reason, unlike the Instant Z-drop, if the bomb is dropped within the opponent's shield, the bomb will not behave as if it was power-shielded and so will remain inactive on the way back down.

Slope Bombing
Description: Link will drop a bomb on a slope without it exploding, then the bomb will tumble down the hill and remain 'active'.
How to Perform: Z-drop a Bomb over a slanted surface such that it does not explode upon touching the ground.
Note: While the Bomb is tumbling, if your opponent touches the bomb it will blow up, if the bomb touches your opponent's shield it will jump up vertically. There aren't many areas in legal stages where this can happen so I won't speak further about it.

The Bouncy Bomb
Description: Link will Z-drop a Bomb which will land and continuously jump around on the spot and remain 'active'.
How to Perform: First of all you need to be on a stage that either has the stage boundaries moving up and the stage moving down, or a stage that has some platform that is moving downwards. Then it's a simple matter of C4ing a Bomb on that platform that is moving down relative to the stage's boundaries.
Note: Now as you'd imagine, this is going to be rather stage specific. It works on the windmill of Windy Hill Zone when its turning anti-clockwise, and it will work on any stage with transformations that move you vertically such that the stage is dropping relative to the boundaries, such as Mushroom Kingdom U. Hooray...


Sliding and Throwing Techs


JC Throw
Description: Link will Dash/Run then slide a tiny bit and do a standing throw directly out of a run.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb, run in one direction, hit Jump then instantly hit the C-stick upwards forwards or backwards (alternatively you can just use the joystick to point in the desired direction and use a button to throw the Bomb).
Note: JC simply stands for Jump Cancel. Note that if you use the C-stick (set to smash) to throw the Bomb, you can use the new C-stick mechanics to buffer a Dash out of the JC throw on the first frame possible. Simply hold the C-stick for a brief period in the direction you throw the Bomb (slightly longer than just flicking the C-stick) and continue to hold the Joystick in the desired direction you want to Dash in, and the perfect Dash input will be buffered automatically for you so that you Dash out of the JC throw on the first frame possible. This is a very simple technique that helps to keep Link moving and is currently our replacement for the Bombslide back-throw. I recommend setting a shoulder button to jump in order to make the c-stick input easier. This tech is very useful when performing the soft throw.

Soft Throw Bombs
The following assumes that non-custom bombs are being used.
Description: Link will throw a bomb backwards and instead of exploding upon hitting the ground, it will bounce along the ground, remaining 'active' throughout, and eventually come to a stop.
How to Perform 1: Unless I say otherwise, this tech requires that the c-stick be set to attack, i.e. that you have an a-stick. The simplest form of this tech is to simply pull a bomb, stand there and hit the a-stick backwards.
How to Perform 2: Pull a bomb, dash in one direction then quickly (though not necessarily instantly) cancel the initial dash by hitting the a-stick backwards.
How to Perform 3: Dash in one direction then when you have entered a run, either shield and hit the a-stick backwards or jump and instantly cancel the jump by hitting the a-stick backwards.
How to Perform 4: Dash in one direction, at any point during the dash or run, hit and hold the joystick backwards, cancel the turn around animation with a jump and then instantly cancel that jump by hitting the a-stick in the direction you were originally running (i.e. what is now backwards).
How to Perform 5: This can of course all technically be done with just the joystick and the attack button, only it's usually very difficult. In place of the 'a-stick backwards' you need to lightly tilt the joystick backwards and at the same time hit the attack button. This method is dumb though because it's so precise, so if you want to soft throw without the a-stick, use the following method.
How to Perform 6: What you want to do is buffer the above method out of something, that is, do any action first such as a bomb-pull, a shield-drop, releasing of a crouch, a jump-squat, or anything really, then during that lag you want to lightly tilt the joystick backwards (hold it in place) then hit the attack button at any point between then and the 10 frame buffer window at the end of the lag so that you buffer the tilt bomb throw backwards out of the lag. With practice you may be able to soft throw with similar success to the a-stick methods, and it is even possible to do the 4th variation above.
Note: This is the revolutionary tech that makes Link's default bombs easily the best. If you're not using this tech, why are you even using Link? The fourth 'how to perform' is especially important as it is the only variation that allows you to soft throw bombs in the same direction as your run. This tech is important for a few reasons. By doing a soft throw bomb, it means that you have an active hitbox out for longer than normal as the bomb will continue to detect hurtboxes until it comes to a rest. When it comes to pressure and overwhelming spam, this is crucial. It also obviously means that the bomb won't go away as soon as it hits the ground and explodes, meaning that if it misses or is purposefully placed to avoid hitting the opponent to keep them at long range, the opponent now has to worry about when the bomb will explode. By placing bombs in strategic points, you can manipulate what your opponent will do, cutting down their options and controlling the stage to make them feel cramped. When the bomb is bouncing on the ground and coming to a stop, that area becomes really good at beating out spotdodges, rolls, and covering landings. This is why the fourth variation is so crucial in combination with any of the others as it allows you to move around freely in any direction and adjust your spacing so that you can purposefully throw the bomb to cover your opponent's option in the right area. You can also deliberately throw the bombs so that they land near the edge of a platform or the edge of the stage and roll off to hit opponents down below. This allows you to harass the opponent from distances and angles that are otherwise impossible. Thanks to the shorter fuse of the bomb in smash 4 (3.66 seconds), you are able to effectively deter the opponent from wanting to pick up and use the bomb themselves, either because you hassled them with your other projectiles for just long enough so that they had to stay in their shield while the fuse ran out, or by first cooking the bomb for a little bit before soft throwing it.

Wall bombing
Description: Link will throw a bomb forwards or backwards at a surface that is not horizontal, and the bomb will bounce off it, the trajectory of the bounce will depend on the angle of the surface.
How to Perform: Throw a bomb either forwards or backwards at the side of the stage for example.
Note: This allows you to make the bomb travel at unique trajectories. It can be used to hit recovering opponents or to allow you to use an aerial while holding a bomb if you catch it after the bounce. You can run off the edge of the stage, throw the bomb backwards at the stage then immediately DJ and land back on-stage. You can also use the timed fuse of the bomb to allow you to do a deep edge-guard by catching the bomb with an aerial, though this is not advised as it is quite dangerous.


The Bombslide (Generally)
Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/DhzbRqRL3Qw Note however that you can hit Up on the joystick earlier when using the A-stick for the second throw input (see below). Everything else in the video should be correct.
Practical Demonstration: https://youtu.be/Zps1BuLB6ys
This tech is rather complicated so I'll have to do things differently. In this section I will talk about things that apply to all variations of the bomb slide and then further down I'll talk about each variation separately. [If you use a different character, then I can guarantee you that some of the information provided below will not apply to you.]
Description Generally: Link will dash in one direction, slide while throwing the bomb, and then depending on your timing, he may then do a fake throw, i.e. move his arm as if he were throwing a bomb only the bomb has already been thrown previously.
How to Perform Generally: The basic elements of this tech involve inputting a dash throw i.e. throwing the bomb while running, then in the initial frames of that dash throw you input the command to throw the bomb a second time, and then either on the same frame as the second throw input or on a frame soon after (still within the first six frames of the dash throw) moving the joystick generally upwards such that it registers as a fully extended upwards command, and this upwards input is what cancels the dash throw animation, replacing it with the second throw's animation, but keeping the momentum from the dash throw on the frame that the dash throw animation was canceled.
Note Generally: I will refer to the first throw as the 'dash throw'. When speaking in general terms I will refer to the second throw as the 'second throw', otherwise I will use the name and/or input for the specific throw which, coming right after the dash throw, will obviously be the second throw. The upwards input that cancels the dash throw animation and activates the bombslide will be referred to separately as the 'activating upwards input' even if it is done on the same frame as the second throw. It is critical for me to note at this point that for most of the bombsliding methods mentioned in this thread it is strongly advised that you turn tap-jump off. This is because what is required is an upwards input in order to activate the bombslide, not a jump input. Therefore, it is easiest to get around this if you simply turn tap-jump off. There are of course ways to get around this problem if you are really attached to your tap-jump; if you don't use tap-jump anyway, feel free to skip to the next section.
One way to get around the tap-jump issue is to simply not use the joystick for the upwards input, but this is only possible for one bombslide, i.e. the Up-throw bombslide with Z for the Dash throw then C-stick up for the Up-throw. The other way to get around it revolves around a quirk related to the A-stick. If you hold the C-stick in any direction you will be unable to use the joystick for movement inputs; if you hold the A-stick in any direction your joystick movement options will still be available, but notably, and this is the whole point, if you hold the A-stick in any direction, you will be unable to tap-jump. What this means is that so long as the A-stick is held in a given direction, the upwards input on the joystick will register as the activating input regardless of whether tap-jump is on or off. The A-stick can be held as part of the bombslide input itself, or it can simply be held prior to performing the bombslide, and so long as the A-stick is held while the activating upwards input is used, all bombslides are possible.
Button Inputs: Due to the fact that there are multiple ways to throw a bomb, there are multiple ways of performing this tech each with their own pros and cons. At the end of this general section I'll recommend which buttons to use for what bombslides, but for now we'll just examine each button input separately.
C-stick (set to smash): This is great for doing the second throw input if you want to do an Up-throw but terrible for doing the dash throw input. If you use it for the up-throw input you won't have to bother with the activating upwards input because the c-stick will do it for you. In other words, c-stick allows you to keep tap-jump on if you wish. One other notable reason why c-stick up is great for the second throw input is because unlike (most of) the joystick methods, the second throw input can be done on the very next frame after the dash throw, i.e. frame 2 of the dash throw animation. That is to say, if you are using a joystick up-throw input method (other than A + B which you can read about below), it is technically possible to be too fast with the input for the second throw; e.g. if you use grab to do the dash throw then attack to do the second throw on frame 2 of the dash throw, the bombslide cannot be activated. But that's as far as the benefits of using the c-stick go. The main reason why you wouldn't want to use the c-stick set to smash for your second throw input is because you will be restricted to doing two variations of the bombslide; the bombslide up-throw and the bombslide up-throw fake-out. As for using the C-stick to do the dash throw part, it is utterly terrible for two reasons. First, the c-stick will invalidate any joystick inputs so long as it isn't in neutral, meaning that the following second throw input which requires the joystick can be messed up if the C-stick isn't immediately returned to neutral. Secondly, there has to be a gap of at least one frame in-between the C-stick dash throw input and the second throw input. If you try to let the c-stick go and input your second throw on the very next frame, the bombslide cannot be activated.
Attack Button: Note that with all button inputs, you cannot use two of the same thing without a gap of at least one frame in-between. So if you set two buttons to 'attack' you would need to make sure you have let go of the first attack button before pressing the second attack button... which is really bad (I won't be making this point again, but know that it applies to every button). If the attack button is used for the dash throw input, then the grab button and the A-stick (i.e. c-stick set to attack) will not work properly for the second throw input as there must be a gap in between the two inputs in which the attack button is not being held. If attack is used for the second throw input however, it cannot be used on the first frame of the dash throw.
Grab Button: Regardless of what you use for the dash throw input, if you use the grab button for the 'up-throw' input, it will mess everything up as there needs to be a gap as mentioned above. However it doesn't have this issue for being used as the dash throw input. In fact if you use the grab button for the dash throw input, you can continue to hold it while you use either the attack button or the a-stick to do the second throw input. Note however that when you do this, there must be at least a 1 frame gap between the grab input and the attack/a-stick input because grab is essentially shield plus attack on the first frame (and only shield thereafter if held) and if you inputted either attack or the a-stick on the following frame, the game would interpret this as if the attack input was never released and so it would not recognise two separate throw inputs.
A-stick: It's main purpose is to be used as the second throw input after the dash throw (where the dash throw should be done using grab because the A-stick cannot be used after the attack button). Though it can also potentially be used as the dash throw input, having the same qualities as Grab where the attack input will only register for one frame and if held will mitigate the affects of tap-jump being left on. If you point the a-stick upwards when inputting the second throw, it will not behave like the c-stick and you will still have to use the joystick for the activating upwards input to actually activate the bombslide. If used as the second throw input, non fake-out bombslides are impossible, which can be good for the sake of consistency if that's the type of bombslide you want. What's more, it's brilliant for doing just that. It makes the back-throw, Forward-throw and Down-throw fake outs very easy to perform. Essentially using the A-stick for the second throw input frees up the joystick to do whatever it wants, notably, it actually allows the activating upwards input to be held before the second throw input. Essentially, you can hit grab to do the dash throw, then hit and hold up on the joystick, then hit the a-stick in any direction (cannot be used on the frame before; note also that you can hit and hold up on this frame too if you want), then on the following frame assuming you're still holding up on the joystick, the game will interpret it as a fresh upwards activating input used automatically on the frame after the a-stick input. This works because the a-stick input interrupts the joystick input for one frame. This is the one time where you'll want to use the upwards activating input before the second throw input.
Attack + Special: In smash 4 there is the new function of being able to use smash attacks with an attack plus special input. What this means for the bombslide is that you can use the attack button for the dash throw input and then as long as you continue to hold the attack button, you can use the special button second throw input. [This will not work with the b-stick (c-stick set to special).] There is one amazing thing about using this particular method for bombsliding. The A + B method allows you to do the second throw input on frame one of the dash throw animation, much like the c-stick, only now you're free to do any second throw that you wish, not just upwards, and the activating upwards input remains a separate input, which opens up many bombslides that are otherwise impossible. Because of the extra frame granted it makes non-fake out variations of the bombslide much easier. This will be explained later in the specific bombsliding sections.
More Notes Generally: The distance you slide and the type of bombslide you do is reliant on the timing of the second throw. If you use the c-stick or the Attack + Special method to do the second throw of the bombslide on frame 2 of the dash throw and on the same frame activate the bombslide with an upward input (automatically done with c-stick up), you will get a non-fake out bombslide and slide the furthest. If you use any input (other than a-stick) to do the second throw on the second or third frame of the dash throw and you do the activating upwards input on the third frame, you will get a non-fake out bombslide and slide a long way. If you use any input for the second throw on the second, third or fourth frame of the dash throw (note that attack and a-stick cannot be used on the second frame of the dash throw and note also that in this case you would be restricted to using the a-stick on third frame because the upwards activating input cannot be registered on the same frame), and you activate the bombslide with an upwards input on the fourth frame, you will get a fake out variation of the bombslide and will slide slightly less. Activating the bombslide with an upwards input on the fifth and sixth frames you'll get a fake out bombslide and slide less again; on the seventh frame you won't cancel the dash throw at all and you will have failed to bombslide.
Optimal Button Inputs: When performing non-fake out bombslides, you'll want to use the A + B input method unless you have the C-stick and you're only interested in doing the Up-throw variation. When performing the fake out bombslides you'll want to use grab to dash throw, on the following frame hit and hold up on the joystick, then on the following frame hit the a-stick in the desired direction to do the second throw (hitting it down on the a-stick gives the fastest fake out).

Bombslide Up-throw
Description: Link will dash forwards with a bomb then get a boost of momentum and slide forwards while throwing the bomb up.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb, input a dash in any direction, after the initial frames of the dash (because if you try to do a dash throw within the initial frames of a dash it will just do a standing throw; won't say again) use one of the buttons mentioned above to do a dash throw then use one of the other button inputs that is compatible with the first to do an Up-throw input within the first three frames of the dash throw animation. This Up-throw input will count as the activating upwards input.
Note: This is great for closing space if you want to get under your opponent. It's also a decent retreating option seeing as it gives you a boost of speed and throws the bomb upwards which will later come back down and could limit your opponent's approach options or release you from a grab or start/continue a combo etc.

Bombslide Up-throw Fake Out
Description: Link will dash forward with a bomb, get a boost of momentum and slide forwards while throwing the bomb forwards then immediately do an up-throw animation without a bomb.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb, dash in any direction, do a dash throw, then do an up-throw in the later frames of the dash throw animation (i.e. frames 4, 5 or 6) and unless you're using the a-stick for the up-throw, this upthrow input will count as the activating upwards input which in any case must be inputted within frames 4 to 6. The Up-throw fake out will still work if you were holding upwards before making the input for the second throw because on the frame that you do the second throw the game will also recognise the upwards input. Note that this is still a very quick input even though it is frame 4 to 6 of the dash throw, and it is only considered 'later' in comparison to the non-fake out variations. The 'dash throw animation' only includes the part where Link actually throws the bomb and does not include the period of time after in which you still cannot otherwise act and Link is pulling up from the effort of the dash throw.
Note: This is a common variation among Link mains mostly because it's easy, but it isn't the best way to throw a bomb forwards and slide forwards. All the Bombslide Fake Outs are pretty good for the purposes of approaching because they use the throw frame data of a dash throw, which means that the bomb is thrown much sooner which means it goes ahead of you and protects you while you slide. Approaching with Bombslides that throw the bomb forwards is especially good in smash 4 due to the fact that if the bomb activates on the opponent's hurtbox, the bomb blast will not hurt Link. Note that when doing fake out versions of the bombslide, if you input upwards to cancel the dash throw on the very last frame (frame 6) you will notice a significant difference in how far you slide as you will only slide half of the distance compared to cancelling on frames 4 or 5 (won't say again).

Bombslide Tilt Up-throw
Description: Link will dash forward then lightly throw a bomb upwards while sliding forwards.
How to Perform: This is only possible with the A + B method. Pull out a bomb, dash forwards, hit and hold the attack button to do a dash throw, then on the frame after (i.e. frame 2 of the dash throw) lightly tilt the joystick diagonally backwards and upwards and hit special, then on the frame after that (i.e. frame 3 of the dash throw which has not been cancelled yet) hit all the way upwards on the joystick to activate the bombslide.
Note: If you're too late with the upwards input you'll just get an up-throw fake out. And no, lightly tilting the joystick just upwards or diagonally forwards and upwards when inputting the tilted throw upwards on the first frame of the dash throw does not work. This bombslide can be used to make the bomb land without exploding on the top platform of battlefield, otherwise it will obviously come back down and explode on the ground much sooner than a normal bombslide up-throw, which under the right circumstances can be more useful.

Bombslide Back-throw
Description: Link will dash forward with a bomb then he will turn around and throw the bomb back in the direction he came from while sliding a long way in the original direction he was running.
How to Perform 1: This is the easier and newer way to perform this tech, and it requires the A + B input method.
Pull out a bomb, dash in any direction, hit and hold attack to do a dash throw, then on the very next frame (i.e. frame 2 of the dash throw) hit backwards on the joystick and hit special, then on the very next frame (i.e. frame 3 of the dash throw which has not been cancelled yet) hit the joystick upwards.
How to Perform 2: You input the dash throw as normal, then, using a joystick method for the second throw (i.e. either grab then attack, or A + B), tilt the joystick diagonally backwards and just the slightest bit further down from the indent (on a GC controller), and input the second bomb throw on frame 2 or 3 of the dash throw animation (only frame 3 works for the Grab then Attack input method). The activating upwards input will be included in the diagonal joystick input.
Note: The joystick precision required for the second way to perform this tech made this tech far too impractical for the longest time. Because of the fact that the second throw could only be performed on the second frame of the dash throw with the old grab + attack input method, this meant that the joystick had to do two things on the same frame; direct the throw and activate the bombslide. This joystick precision is no longer required as the A + B method allows for the second throw to be done on frame 2 of the dash throw which in turn allows for the joystick inputs to be broken up into a simple backwards and then upwards on the following frame. This doesn't make it super easy or anything, but it is now practical enough to be used with practice. You'll want to do all the inputs almost as if they are one input, with the joystick doing a quick flick backwards into a quick quarter-circle upwards. It is by far Link's best retreating tool, like a retreating JC throw on steroids.

Bombslide Back-throw Fake Out
Description: Link dashes forward with a bomb, slides forwards while throwing the bomb forwards then turns around during the slide and does a fake throw back in the direction he came from, making him slide backwards in the direction of the thrown bomb.
How to Perform 1: You can do the exact same thing as above only delay it slightly, e.g. with the first 'how to perform' mentioned above you'd have more time to move the joystick upwards and activate the bombslide, which in turn would give you more time to do the 'back-throw' input. So long as the activating upwards input is done on frame 4, 5, or 6, you'll get a bombslide back-throw fake out. Note that the same goes for the 'how to perform 2' above, but that one's terrible anyway.
How to Perform 2: Use the Grab button to perform a dash throw, hit the A-stick backwards and hit upwards to activate the bombslide on frame 4, 5, or 6 of the dash throw. If you're using this variation you are allowed to hold up before doing the second throw input with the A-stick and it will still register as an upwards activating input on the same frame that you do the second throw input, which can make it much easier to perform as you can instantly move the joystick upwards after inputting the grab button without having to worry about timing it.
Note: The second method is much easier, and incidentally, if you're using the a-stick you cannot do non-fake out bombslides as the earliest that you can hit the a-stick and still bombslide is on frame 3 of the dash throw, and the earliest that the upwards input will register and activate the bombslide is on the following frame, which at best will be frame 4 of the dash throw, meaning only fake out bombslides are possible. This could be seen as a bad or a good thing, but regardless of that, the a-stick method is most certainly very easy and allows you to do this bombslide variation consistently with minimal practice. The benefits of this variation are that you can immediately use Bairs if the bomb hits or use Bairs to retreat if it misses. Also, if you use it right up close to the opponent (without getting the frame 6 cancel), you can use it to cross-up the opponent, i.e. quickly get behind them where you can immediately jab or grab etc. All the bombslides can be used for this purpose of course, but this one turns you around and unlike the bombslide back-throw, this one is easy to perform (though come to think of it, if you're up for it, you may as well attempt to use bombslide back throws for the purposes of crossing up, because if you mess up the timing you'll get this fake out version anyway, and if you happen to get it right you'll slide much farther and throw the bomb back at them as you cross them up).

Bombslide Soft Throw
Description: Link will dash forwards then slide in the direction of his initial dash while turning around and soft throwing the bomb back in the direction that he came from, and then the bomb will land safely on the ground without exploding.
How to Perform: This can only be done with the A + B input method. Pull out a bomb, dash forwards, hit and hold attack to do a dash throw, then on the following frame (i.e. frame 2 of the dash throw) lightly tilt the joystick backwards and hit special, then on the following frame (i.e. frame 3 of the dash throw which of course has not been cancelled yet), hit the joystick upwards to activate the bombslide.
Note: This is one of if not the most difficult bombslides to perform, but the benefits of it are all too obvious. Already, as a movement option for the purposes of retreating or crossing up the opponent, the bombslide back-throw is incredible, then you add on the aforementioned benefits of the Soft Throw tech? It's sublime.

Bombslide Forward-throw
Description: Link will dash forwards then slide forwards while throwing the Bomb forwards.
How to Perform 1: Similar to the Bombslide Back-throw only easier to perform as the joystick doesn't have to be brought all the way over to the other side real quick. This way can only be done with the A + B method. Pull a bomb, dash forwards (and continue to hold forwards), hit and hold attack to do the dash throw, on the following frame (frame 2 of the dash throw) while still holding forwards hit special, then on the following frame (frame 3 of the dash throw) hit diagonally up and forwards on the joystick (just far enough up to activate the bombslide).
How to Perform 2: Input the dash throw as normal, then aim the joystick diagonally forwards and upwards and just the slightest bit further down from the indent and input the second throw on frame 2 or 3 of the dash throw animation (only the A + B method can do so on frame 2).
Note: Using the Attack + Special input method makes this much easier to perform. There is a distinct advantage to be gained from doing this bombslide variation. It is one of the two best ways to throw a bomb forwards while sliding forwards. Because the throw animation is started earlier than any fake out bombslide, this means that the throwing animation will also end sooner than all fake out bombslides (except for the down-throw fake out). It also gives the greatest slide forwards out of all the bombslides that throw the bomb forwards, and it has the least amount of lag in between when the bomb is actually thrown and when you are able to act after it, though this is gained by delaying when the bomb is actually thrown which means you won't be protected while sliding.

Bombslide Forward-throw Fake Out
Description: Link will dash forwards then slide forwards while throwing the bomb forwards and then he'll instantly do another throw forwards which is technically a fake-out.
How to Perform 1: You can either do the same as above only delay the timing such that the bombslide is being activated on frames 4 to 6, or
How to Perform 2: Dash forwards with a Bomb, do a dash throw with grab, then hit the a-stick forwards (preferably on frame 3), and finally input upwards in the joystick during the part of the dash throw animation (frames 4 to 6) in which Link's arm is level with him or out in-front throwing the bomb. Note again that by using this method you can hold upwards before hitting the A-stick.
Note: Some people may wonder what's the difference between doing this and doing an Up-throw Fake Out. The truth is there isn't any difference other than the animation, and I personally prefer the Up-throw fake out animation. They slide the same distance, the bombs travel the same distance, and they have the same amount of lag too. Neither is the optimal Fake Out variation however. That award goes to the bombslide down-throw fake out.

Bombslide Down-throw
Description: Link dashes forwards with a bomb, then slides forwards while throwing the bomb at his feet. If the bomb doesn't hit an opponent's hurtbox or shield, and the bomb isn't a custom bomb, Link will be damaged by the explosion.
How to Perform: This is only possible with the A + B method. Pull a bomb, dash forward, hit and hold attack to do a dash throw, then on the following frame (frame 2 of the dash throw) hit downwards on the joystick and hit special, then on the following frame (frame 3 of the dash throw) hit up on the joystick to activate the bombslide.
Note: This is probably more something you'd want to be doing with custom bombs. It is the quickest bombslide, and it gives you the same huge boost of a non-fake out bombslide, so in terms of a sheer movement option, this is the best. It could be amazing for crossing up the opponent, and if you're using a custom bomb the bomb will bounce which sets up a wall if you're retreating and then lends itself to being caught with an aerial, which in turn can be used for 'meteor bomb cancelling'. It's a difficult yet potentially very beneficial bombslide that may need to be looked into further.

Bombslide Down-throw Fake Out
Description: Link dashes forward with a Bomb, slides forward while throwing the bomb forward, then spazzes out (he does the animation of throwing the bomb down without a bomb).
How to Perform 1: Either do the above only delay the inputs slightly, or
How to Perform 2: Do a dash throw then hit the a-stick downwards (preferably on frame 3) then hit the joystick upwards so that it activates the bombslide on frames 4 to 6 of the dash throw animation, i.e. very quickly but not literally instantly. (Again, by using the A-stick method, holding upwards on the joystick before hitting the A-stick will activate the bombslide on the frame that the A-stick is inputted, which can help to get that longer slide that you want.)
Note: The second way to perform this AT is easier. The Down-throw fake out is equal second alongside the Bombslide Forward throw as the best way to slide forwards while throwing the bomb forwards, and it is the undisputed best fake out bombslide, meaning it is also the best bombslide to use for approaching. It's not that difficult using the a-stick method either. Basically, the reason why this bombslide is so good is because the down throw animation is two frames faster than any other throwing animation, which means that the potential two frames gained by the bombslide forward throw over the other fake out variations having to start their throwing animations two frames later is equaled by the two frames saved by doing the down-throw fake out. Comparing it to the bombslide forward throw, the bombslide down throw fake out is easier to perform and has a shorter slide forwards, but that slide forwards is covered by the bomb being thrown early by the dash throw.

Bombslide Fringe Flick Fake Out (Item Discard Fake Out)
Description: Link will dash forwards with a bomb, throw a bomb forwards then slide after it while fixing his hair.
How to Perform 1: Do a dash throw with the grab button and hold it, then hit the a-stick perfectly diagonally in any direction (preferably on frame 3) and hit the joystick upwards so that it activates the bombslide within frames 4 to 6 of the dash throw.
How to Perform 2: Do a dash throw with the grab button and hold it, then with the joystick in neutral hit attack (preferably on frame 3 of the dash throw animation), then on frame 4 to 6 hit upwards on the joystick to activate the bombslide. Alternatively, you can hold upwards on the joystick before hitting the A-stick diagonally, just as long as you are still holding it by the time you hit the A-stick.
Note: While it may look like Link is just fixing his hair real quick before going into battle, he is technically doing the animation for throwing larger items (like the baseball bat or beam sword) behind him from a standing position (by pressing grab). This is by far the most stylish of all the bombslides. Why should you do this over the down-throw fake out? For style points and combo video material. In terms of frame data, the item discard fake out actually has the most lag, so it is the worst bombslide. Normally this animation cannot be done with a bomb, but the bombslide tricks the game into letting Link do it because he is doing an item animation without holding the bomb any more, and so the rule in the game that says that certain items such as the bomb cannot be 'discarded' no longer applies. Characters like Ike who have a longer dash throw animation can actually do the 'non-fake out item discard slide' if they are holding e.g. a beam sword, but the same exact input that allows Ike to do this does not work for items such as bombs.



Bomb Catching Techs

ZAC
Description: Link will Z-drop a bomb without Zair coming out then catch it with an aerial.
How to Perform: See 'Z-drop' above for the different ways to Z-drop a Bomb without doing a Zair. Note that some of the variations, such as Z-dropping the Bomb immediately after doing a SH or FH, will actually count as doing an IZAC (below) if you manage to instantly catch the Bomb while rising. The ZAC on the other hand has always been inherently easier to perform as you have more time because the Bomb is Z-dropped either while falling or at around the time when you start to fall.
Note: This allows you to use aerials while holding a bomb which is good because it means you can follow up with a bomb throw. You'd want to z-drop the bomb either as you are coming out of hitstun or as an aerial is ending if you still have time before you land, e.g. allowing you to DJ and catch the bomb with another aerial. Most importantly, you need to be aware of whether or not you still have time before the bomb explodes (which in these scenarios isn't going to be very often.

IZAC
Description: Link will Z-drop a bomb while rising out of a SH or FH (such that Zair doesn't come out) and then he will immediately catch the bomb with an aerial while still rising.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb, Jump then (with the joystick in neutral) quickly Tap the grab button to Z-drop the bomb (without Zair coming out), Instantly let go of the grab button, then Instantly catch the Bomb with an aerial.
Note: It is very important that you Z-drop the Bomb at the right time; too early will cancel the jump (resulting in a JC Throw), too late and you'll Zair. It is also extremely important that you are not still pressing the grab button when you use an aerial otherwise Link will Zair, which can often be mistaken for an incorrectly timed z-drop. You can try tapping or flicking the grab button to make sure you're only pressing it for a split second, whatever works for you. If you do manage to master this tech it means that you can use instant aerials regardless of whether you are holding a bomb or not, making you that much more threatening to approach while you're holding a bomb and making your spam to sword game that much more flexible. You have been warned though, this is very difficult. I'd advise you start out by learning the Instant Z-drop timing.

PIZAC
Description: Link will stand on a platform holding a Bomb, drop through the platform and perform an aerial which will catch the Bomb.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb and stand on a platform, lightly flick the joystick part of the way down, just enough so that it makes Link drop through the platform, then immediately release the joystick to let it return to neutral, then instantly Tap the Grab button and immediately release it (if done quick enough Zair won't come out), then instantly catch the Bomb (which would have otherwise simply sat on the platform) with an aerial.
Note: The key to this is timing. If you blow yourself up, it's either because you hit grab too early and cancelled the drop-through with a Bomb throw down (at your feet), or it's because you didn't flick down on the joystick hard or far enough, or it's because you held down for too long and threw the bomb down as you passed through the platform. If you find yourself doing a Zair then this is either because you were too late hitting grab or you were still holding grab when you went to use an aerial. Because of this, I recommend practising without the aerial for a while to just C4 the Bomb onto the platform without doing a Zair so that you can rule the former mistake out. If you just throw the bomb forwards this either means that you messed up hitting down entirely or somehow you were actually too quick letting go of down and also too quick hitting grab (highly unlikely but theoretically possible). This is actually a pretty decent tech for Link, especially seeing as Nair is comparatively good for dropping down on people, only now you get to do it while holding a bomb.

Instant Bomb Throw
Description: Link will catch and instantly throw the Bomb (or any other item for that matter).
How to Perform: Catch (or pick up) a Bomb by Hitting Airdodge, then instantly cancel the airdodge with a Bomb throw in any direction (can be thrown with the c-stick or a combination of the joystick and attack/grab).
Note: You don't have to worry about any airdodge landing lag if you instantly cancel an airdodge with an item throw, so that's always nice. You can do this move to a Bomb that you threw up in the air, or to a Bomb that has been C4'd, or you can do it to a Bomb that has been shielded, or one that has been thrown at you. If you play a character like Link, it is expected that you will have superior item control, and so this is one of those techs you'll need up your sleeve. Link can do some interesting if not admittedly gimmicky things with this, such as double bomb throws. For example, using the a-stick to make sure your throws a tilted, pull a bomb then run away and do a JC throw upwards, pull out another bomb (which can be done with a SH to stay mobile) then FH into the path of the bomb that is now falling, throw the bomb you are holding and then use instant bomb throw on the other bomb. Or instead you can use the side platforms on battlefield; C4 a bomb onto one of them, get beneath with another bomb, then SH bomb throw followed by an instant bomb throw.

Fast Fall Catch
Description: Link will throw a bomb down from high up in the air and at the same time FF after it, then he'll land before the bomb and catch it before it explodes.
How to Perform: At FH + DJ height while descending, hit down on the joystick and hit the attack button while holding a bomb, then as soon as you land, hit the attack button again.
Note: The only realistic use for this would be as a fake out. You make it look like they need to shield or something by throwing a bomb down it in-front of them, then you catch it and run away and JC throw the bomb back at them.


Miscellaneous

The Bomb Spike
Description: The blast of the bomb will go through the stage and hit your opponent up into the stage, resulting in a stage spike.
How to Perform: Simply make a bomb explode on the ground near the edge when an opponent is under the ledge, not hanging on without invincibility frames.
Note: This will work on most stages so long as the stage is solid, the edges are roughly at a 45 degree angle or even more horizontal, and so long as the opponent is under the stage itself and not hanging onto the ledge. Having said that, the opponent can still be stage spiked on the right kind of stage while they are hanging on the ledge so long as the bomb hits them on the side furthest away from the stage as the blast will hit them towards the stage. This isn't a bomb spike in the strictest sense as the blast is not going through the stage itself, but it is still a bomb causing a stage spike.

Zair/Tether while holding a Bomb
Description: Link will use his Zair or Tether without throwing or dropping the bomb.
How to Perform: Pull out a bomb, Jump, Airdodge, then hit the Grab button (alternatively, hold the airdodge button then hit the attack button).
Note: Zair while holding a Bomb has been nerfed because of the fact that you will get the lag from the airdodge when you land if the Zair animation isn't over; i.e. the lag transfers over. Being able to use Tether while holding a Bomb however is still a necessary tech to know and you won't experience any negative side effects.

Bomb Dribbling
Description: Link throws a custom bomb down at the ground and due to it being a custom bomb, it won't explode.
How to Perform: Throw a bomb down. It can be a tilt throw or a smash throw, it can be from the air or from the ground or even out of a dash/run if you do a JC throw.
Note: Where this tech gets its name from is the fact that after throwing the bomb down at the ground you can immediately pick it back up again and then throw it down again, repeating the process makes it sort of look like Link is dribbling a basketball. The idea behind this tech is to mix up your timing and trick your opponent into e.g. dropping their shield or reacting in some other way. You can even pick the bomb back up out of a JC throw even though it ends up behind you. You can of course pick the bomb back up with an aerial too, and if you're using the meteor bombs, this allows you to easily set up the Meteor Clash.

Meteor Clash
Description: Link uses a move such that the hitboxes of that move are out when the meteor bomb explodes due to the fuse running out, and the hitbox of the meteor bomb clashes with the hitbox of Link's other move. The result will be that the meteor bomb's explosion will not give Link any damage, hitstun or knockback.
How to Perform: It can be very difficult to time a move such that it's hitbox is out as the meteor bomb explodes. Luckily, Dair, Uair and Nair are all very easy to time and can be done while holding the bomb to make it even easier. Simply z-drop the meteor bomb or throw it down at the ground, wait a moment, then jump and instantly catch the bomb with a Dair, U-air or Nair.
Note: If done with a Dair, something rather interesting happens. Link will pogo off the explosion, i.e. he will seemingly bounce off nothing, extending the amount of time he is in the air and allowing him to travel further, which can easily catch opponents off-guard if they aren't familiar with this janky tech. Just note that with Dair, if you pogo off an opponent and then the meteor bomb you are holding immediately explodes, the bomb will hit you. This is because Dair temporarily loses it's hitbox when you pogo. So don't try the Dair version off-stage too close to an opponent, just in case. Using this tech gives you another option for when the meteor bomb is about to explode; normally you'd be in a hurry to either throw it or e.g. shield the blast, but the option is there now to simply catch the bomb with a Nair for example and absorb the blast. Nair can be made even more potent if you attempt to cross up the opponent and land with Nair on the back of their shield; if timed correctly, the blast can act as a second hitbox, so while the Nair may have hit the top of their shield, the blast can come out just before you land which can actually punish powershields. It can be done by catching the meteor bomb with a Bair too, it's just that you have to time it, but no matter how well you time it, it can't be done with a Fair while holding the bomb because the hitboxes of Fair and the meteor bomb blast are too far away from each other and so can't clash. If you're holding the bomb, Spin Attack can also work but only for the latter half of it (and it needs to be timed just right as well) because the first three hitboxes in front and the first two hitboxes at the back have transcendent priority and will not clash. It won't work with Dash Attack if you pick the bomb up with the Dash attack for the same reason it won't work with Fair. Any other variation of this tech, such as using moves while not holding the bomb, will be much more difficult to pull off, but still technically possible.

Meteor Move Cancel
Description: The timed explosion of the meteor bomb will interrupt whatever Link was doing, giving him 5% damage and only minor hitstun, allowing him to do almost anything immediately.
How to Perform: Simply time whatever action you want to cancel so that the meteor bomb explodes at the perfect time, i.e. immediately after the hitbox of your move has connected with the opponent; you will of course also need to space yourself accordingly where necessary so that the meteor bomb is close enough to you when it explodes.
Note: This is much more effective when on very low percents. For example, Link has a guaranteed D-smash on anyone if the bomb hits Link while he is holding someone so long as he is under 15%. To do this, set a meteor bomb on the ground behind you, e.g. dash forward and JC throw the meteor bomb down, then immediately Grab someone. At this point you simply need to pummel till the bomb explodes at you back, forcing a grab release on your opponent while all you have to contend with is the amount of time the meteor bomb keeps you in hitstun, giving you a huge frame advantage. If you are below 15% you can buffer a turn around out of the explosion so that you will be facing the opponent again, then D-smash immediately as you are turning around, and the opponent will be unable to shield or in any way avoid the D-smash. There are a whole load of other interesting things you can cancel, such as the second hit of F-smash or the first hit of D-smash, both of which can easily lead to situations where you can break the opponent's shield; it's just that these are much more difficult to set up and leave you somewhat committed without anything necessarily guaranteed. Any move that has excessively long lag or that would otherwise leave you committed can be cancelled for the price of 5%.

Let us meet again, child!
Hee-hee-ho!


Boomerang

Answer me this...
Pick one of the three choices...

Which item makes Link the strongest?

Power Glove
You haven't played A Link to the Past?!?

Titan's Mitt
Hee-hee-ho!
Good! Very good!
Take this prize!

The 'In-between' Angles
Description: Link will throw the boomerang at an angle somewhere between straight forward and diagonally up / diagonally down.
How to Perform: Looking at a GC controller, note that it has eight indents with 8 flat sides in-between them. Normally when you throw the boomerang you may only think about throwing it either forwards, diagonally up or diagonally down by putting the joystick into one of these indents. Only, on each side that connects these indents, there are unique angles that the boomerang can be thrown. Take for example the side that is in-between forwards and diagonally up, noting that everything said about it applies equally to the side in-between forwards and diagonally down. On this side there are two unique angles that the boomerang can be thrown depending on which indent the joystick is closest to. The differences between them are slight in comparison to how much they differ from their corresponding indent. You must however be relatively in the centre of the side in order for it to work. If you are up against the side and too close to one of the indents, the boomerang will be thrown as if the joystick were in that indent.
Note: It is beneficial to be able to hit the in-between angles on command as it gives you greater accuracy and importantly means that there are less blind-spots in your spam game where an opponent can be safe.

Gale Guarding
This is assuming you are using the non-custom boomerang.
Description: Link will hop off the stage, throw the Boomerang back at the side of the stage and the Boomerang will rebound off the side and go over/past him towards a recovering opponent who will be dragged slightly further away from the stage.
How to Perform: Jump or run off the edge of the stage, Throw the Boomerang back towards the stage so it hits the side of the stage, wait until it's gone past you then double Jump, Up-B to recover.
Note: The angle that the boomerang bounces back is entirely dependant on three things: the angle of the surface that the boomerang hit, the angle that you threw the boomerang, and to a lesser extent your position relative to the returning boomerang (because it wants to come back). Note also in particular that there are two different ways that a boomerang can bounce off a surface; we'll call these bounce-1 and bounce-2. The rules for bounce-1 are as follows: the boomerang will hit the surface, immediately lose its outward going hitbox and become the wind-only returning boomerang, then it will travel back on the exact same path and angle that it came from, i.e. it will return along the same path that it was throw originally regardless of what angle it hit the surface. The rules for bounce-2 are as follows: the boomerang will hit the surface, retain its outward going hitbox and bounce off at an angle that is symmetrical to the angle it hit the surface, then when it has gone the full length of the outward throw, it will try to return to you but will be greatly influenced by the direction it was last travelling, i.e. toward the surface. So then, what makes the boomerang choose either bounce-1 or bounce-2? It has to do with whether or not the angle that the boomerang hits the surface has breached the threshold angle relative to the angle of the surface. I'll explain.
Picture a flat vertical surface, i.e. a 90 degree wall, like on the side of the duck hunt stage. Now if you throw the boomerang at this surface, no matter what angle you try to throw it, you will always get a bounce-1. This is because the angle that the boomerang is hitting the surface is within the area of permitted bounce-1 angles. In fact, if you were to picture a triangular area sticking out perpendicular to the angle of the surface, that area would be slightly larger than the area made by the angles you can potentially throw the boomerang (i.e. between diagonally up and diagonally down). As soon as the boomerang hits a surface from an angle that is outside of this area, you will get a bounce-2. For the purposes of doing the gale guard, you want to get a bounce-1. This is further complicated by the different surface angles on different stages. Duck Hunt is easy because you literally can't go wrong, and it also means you get to make the gale guard go diagonally up towards the opponent by throwing it diagonally down at the wall. Note however that every stage has a sweet spot on the very lip of the stage that acts like a flat 90 degree surface. If you want to hit this with consistency I recommend doing a FH off the side of the stage to give yourself some time to adjust. The aim is to keep in mind the above factors and adjust accordingly to make the boomerang bounce off the side of the stage and in the direction of where you predict the opponent will be. And what's your reward? A slight irritation to most characters, but admittedly a potential gimp against characters with terrible recoveries.

Side-special Reversal
Description: Link will Jump either Forwards or Backwards, then immediately Reverse his momentum (sort of like a mid-air bounce off nothing) and turn around to face the other way while throwing the boomerang.
How to Perform: Jump either Forwards or Backwards, Hit Forward special, instantly (within 4 frames) hit Backwards.
Note: All these momentum shifting techniques have their specific uses depending on whether you want to retreat or approach in any given situation. So for example with this one you can jump backwards toward an opponent and then bounce back away from them while throwing a boomerang at them. This can be done with a tilt-thrown as opposed to a smash-thrown boomerang too. To do this simply tilt the joystick when throwing the boomerang then hit the opposite direction as normal. Note also that this technique can be done along the ground to some very small extent only instead of jumping, you run forwards and then the input is the same.

Wavebounce
Description: Link will Jump either Forwards or Backwards, Reverse his momentum but not the way he is facing and throw the boomerang (though in truth, you are changing the way you are facing twice very quickly so it simply appears as if you haven't changed the direction you were facing).
How to Perform: Jump either Backwards or Forwards, Hit Backwards special, instantly (withing 4 frames) hit Forwards (that is, 'forwards' in relation to the direction you were originally facing when you jumped).
Note: See above notes, only, in the example where you use it to fade away from the opponent while throwing the boomerang, obviously you'd want to jump forwards with this tech instead of backwards.

Zero Lag Catch
Description: Link won't stop what he's doing to catch the boomerang and put it away.
How to Perform: Throw out a Boomerang, then as it comes back, to cancel out the lag, simply do Anything But stand there, jump while doing nothing else, or run/walk/pivot.
Note: Any lag is bad lag, so considering all the things that can be done to avoid this lag, there really isn't any excuse. Even teetering at the edge of the stage/platform can avoid it for goodness sake. The lag from catching a boomerang has been significantly reduced since Brawl however, so this is no longer a big deal.

Catch Lag Replacement
Description: Link will stop what he's doing to put the boomerang away, and the small amount of lag from catching the boomerang will replace a greater amount of lag that you would have otherwise experienced.
How to Perform: Throw out a Boomerang, perform a certain action and put yourself in the direct path of the returning boomerang such that you will catch it.
Note: This seemingly contradictory tech is the result of the boomerang catch being much less laggy in smash 4. While the zero lag catch tech tells you to avoid the boomerang catch, this tech tells you that there are some circumstances in which catching the boomerang is actually beneficial. Catching the boomerang gives you 9 frames of lag in which you can do nothing, so the idea is to replace laggier situations with the 9 frames of lag. For example, you can replace the landing lag of aerials with the boomerang catch lag. Dair has 32 frames of landing lag, and Uair has 23. If you land with Uair then immediately catch the boomerang, you will easily half the amount of time in which you can do nothing. You can also replace the landing lag of Airdodge in the same way which is 21 frames of landing lag, and the same is of course true for when you cancel airdodge with Zair. Zair normally has 8 frames of landing lag, so getting 9 frames of landing lag after doing an airdodge Zair effectively cancels out the airdodge landing lag nonsense. Catching the boomerang out of a Run is also the fastest way to return to neutral out of a Run with all your options available. Some actions can be done directly out of a run, but many cannot such as Jab or D-tilt or even a new Dash back in the opposite direction, so by deliberately running into and catching the boomerang, you will be able to use these options after only 9 frames as opposed to 15 frames from doing these actions out of a skid.


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Power Bracelet
You haven't played Oracle of Ages/Seasons?!?


Arrows

Answer me this...
Pick one of the three choices...

Which member has accumulated the most infraction points total over the period of their time here on smashboards?

Camalange
Camalange only has 16 past infraction points. Only 16.
Only.

Shin
You would think so wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong. Nonetheless, Shin has a respectable 123 past infraction points.

Mic_128
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Take this prize!


Arrow Lock
Description: Link will shoot the opponent with an arrow immediately after they missed a grounded tech or just after they were footstooled close to the ground such that they could not tech or just after they were locked by something else e.g. Nair. This will result in the opponent being locked, which essentially means that they temporarily lose control of their character and have no choice but to watch their character attempt to stand back up in place.
How to Perform: Shoot the opponent with an arrow soon after they miss a tech or soon after they land after having been footstooled in the air close to the ground (by someone else e.g. in doubles) or soon after they have been locked by something else.
Note: Once the opponent has been locked they temporarily lose control of their character. They will be forced to do a normal stand up as soon as they can. It is possible to hit them with a move that has locking properties (i.e. low enough knockback but high enough hitstun) up to three times before it will stop working and they won't be forced to stand up. Unfortunately Link's normal arrows are too slow to use more than once, and while Link's quick-bow will allow you to use two or three arrows depending on whether the opponent has already been hit by a move with locking properties, it will only work against characters who's character model is high enough off the ground to be hit. Once you have locked them they can either be hit immediately or you can charge an attack and hit them at the end of their 'forced get up' just as their invulnerability frames run out and before they are able to shield. You can of course set up the arrow lock with the Nair Lock regardless of whether you're using the normal or quick-bow arrows just so long as they are big enough to be hit while you're up close. It's probably not the optimal thing to do though as you are stuck in the ending lag of the arrow for too long and only get 4% extra out of it. The best use for this tech is for sniping people's missed techs from a distance, locking them in place just long enough for you to run over and hit them.

Turn Around Special
Description: Link will Jump Forwards or Backwards, Turn around to face the other way and shoot an arrow.
How to Perform 1: Jump Backwards or Forwards, Lightly tilt Backwards and Hit special.
How to Perform 2: Jump Backwards or Forwards, Tap/flick Backwards (such that the joystick Instantly returns to neutral), then instantly (i.e. within 10 frames of hitting backwards) hit special.
How to Perform 3: Jump Backwards or Forwards, perform an action, toward the last ten frame of that action buffer a neutral special and then hit backwards before the special comes out.
Note: I personally prefer the second flicking method, but whatever works for you. It can be nice to run away, jump and then fire an arrow back at the opponent as you continue to drift away from them.

Special Reversal
Description: Link will Jump either Forwards or Backwards, and Reverse his momentum and turn to face the other way while shooting an arrow.
How to Perform: Jump Backwards or Forwards, (with the joystick in neutral) Hit special then instantly (within 4 frames) Hit Backwards.
Note: Everything in the note for the side special reversal applies here too, i.e. being able to fade away out of jumping backwards, doing it on the ground etc. Due the the fact that arrows are quicker than boomerangs, there is a possible use for this that the side-special reversal does not have. While risky and most likely stupid, it is an option to use this tech to quickly change where you will land; for example, the opponent suddenly runs in and charges a smash and you have no double jump. It is possible to use this to land behind them and avoid the attack depending on the attack. Realistically however, I think this has only worked for me a handful of times. Depending on the attack it may be a better idea to fast fall into an attack or shield or footstool. Still, I guess it's worth mentioning seeing as Link's ability to change his aerial momentum is otherwise quite poor.

Wavebounced Arrows
Description: Link will Jump either Forwards or Backwards, Reverse his momentum and stay facing the original direction and shoot an arrow (though in truth you'll just be turning around twice very quickly).
How to Perform 1: Jump Backwards or Forwards, Slightly tilt Backwards and hit special, then instantly (within 4 frames) Hit the joystick in the direction you were originally facing.
How to Perform 2: Jump Backwards or Forwards, flick the joystick Backwards such that it immediately returns to neutral and hit special within 10 frames, then instantly (within 4 frames) Hit the joystick in the direction you were originally facing.
How to Perform 3: Jump Backwards or Forwards, perform an action, toward the last ten frame of that action buffer a neutral special and then hit backwards before the special comes out, then within the first four frames of the neutral special Hit the joystick in the direction you were originally facing.
Note: Buffering this out of something can just help with the timing in general even if you end up using method 2. While you will still have to hit the joystick in the direction you were originally facing within that 4 frame window, the time you have to move your joystick back there can be increased using the buffer window.


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Sword and Boots

Answer me this...
Pick one of the three choices...

What was the most difficult part about writing this thread?

Thinking of questions
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D-tilt Spike
Description: Link hits a character with D-tilt and they get hit downwards instead of upwards.
How to Perform: The opponent must be in the air or otherwise be extremely vulnerable while hanging on the ledge (e.g. Charizard) and you must hit with the middle of the sword.
Note: While this was made easier to connect in the recent patch, it was also made more or less redundant. Unless the opponent is on high percents (like 125-150%) or is a character with a very poor recovery, this will not be killing anyone because the knockback and hitstun were weakened.

Nair Locking
Description: At it's most basic, it's just Link hitting a character with the weak latter part of his Nair where that character has missed a tech, or been forced to miss a tech by being footstooled close to the ground, or that has already been put into a lock by someone else.
How to Perform: To perform the Forced Nair Lock, pull a bomb, hit the opponent with the bomb right up close (for example by jumping and throwing it down at them) then footstooling them (don't hold jump, it must be a small footstool), then toward the peak of the footstool use Nair and finally FF at the peak of the footstool i.e. asap, at this point you may need to immediately drift backwards depending on the opponent.
Note: If you hit the opponent too late such that they could have moved and avoided the Nair, you'll get the Nair, but it won't actually lock the opponent. The Nair Lock does not work on thin characters because Nair is unable to hit them when they are on the ground. Once the weak hitbox of Nair hits, assuming it hits in time, the opponent is locked, meaning they have temporarily lost control of their character and will be forced to flop on the ground and then immediately stand up which can either be punished immediately before they begin to stand up or it can be punished toward the end of their stand-up animation when they have lost their invulnerability frames and are still unable to shield. If you don't FF at the very peak, the Nair will hit too late and it will not lock or cause a forced get-up. This can only be done at low to medium percents because eventually the weak hit of Nair begins to hit too hard and losses its locking properties. It is actually possible to chain together multiple forced footstool locks. The only currently known way to do this is to first do a forced Nair lock however you please, then, immediately pull a bomb, dash in towards the opponent asap, after a brief dash (just enough to get you close up to your opponent who should be standing up by now) hit jump as you return the joystick to neutral, then just as you're coming out of your 'jump-squat' but before your feet have left the ground, hit the grab button to drop the bomb without Zair coming out (i.e. the Instant Z-drop) such that the bomb is dropped within your opponent's hurtbox. The bomb will hit them without them being able to avoid it, allowing you to footstool them (be sure to delay the footstool as long as possible to make sure the opponent is high enough off the ground to give you enough time), then the Nair FF is the same. This allows you to continue doing forced Nair Locks with the only limit being the opponent's percent (i.e. at what point the Nair will stop locking) and your own tech skill. This is exceedingly difficult.

Dropkick
Description: Link uses Bair such that he lands immediately after the first hit comes out.
How to Perform: SH then at the peak of your jump, no later, hit the c-stick backwards and hit down on the joystick to FF at the same time. (If you're struggling with consistency, just delay the FF ever so slightly.)
Note: If you connect the first hit of Bair and land immediately, it sets up a very solid string into U-tilt. Technically if you are almost frame perfect, buffering a turn-around/pivot and then doing U-tilt will hit slightly earlier, meaning that the U-tilt is more guaranteed and in some cases can be unavoidable. This combo is especially good when you factor in the fact that the first hit of Bair has set-knockback, meaning that the Bair to U-tilt will be just as guaranteed at earlier percents for U-tilt combos as it will be at later percents for U-tilt kills. Of course you don't have to feel restricted to U-tilt as a follow up either, it's just that it is the most likely to work. Depending on your opponent and their character, you may be able to get away with things like F-tilt or turn around U-smash. Instead of making it another tech, and in part to justify the existence of the dropkick as a tech XD, I will briefly note that similar things can be done with the first hit of Fair. You need to SH, use Fair just before the peak of your jump, then at the peak of your jump FF. This will make it so the first hit comes out just before Link lands. While it doesn't have the same combo potential as the dropkick, it is a very safe move that can be thrown out with just under the range of a Jab 1, meaning it can be used as a spacing tool that can be landed on people's shields without them being able to punish you. The SH FF part just makes it come out quicker and cleaner.

Kara Smashing
Description: Link will Dash forward, initiate another Dash then immediately F-smash.
How to Perform: This tech revolves around the ability to interrupt the initial frames of a Dash with F-smash, otherwise known as a stutter-step. This is combined with the act of moving around with Dashes, i.e. Foxtrotting. In other words, initiate a dash in any direction (as many as you want, but generally just the one or two), then toward the end of that dash, initiate another dash and immediately hit the attack button to do an F-smash in the direction of your dash or use the C-stick set to smash to do an F-smash in any direction.
Note: This is a great way to adjust your spacing and F-smash, especially if you have the c-stick set to smash as you can more easily use it to retreat and then F-smash back in the direction you came from which is great for punishing approaches. It is slightly faster than simply walking and using F-smash, enough that it makes a difference worth noting. Link's walk is pretty fast though so obviously other characters would get a better use out of this tech. Note that you can actually do the F-smash back in the direction you came from without the c-stick. What you need to do is Dash, then at the end of the dash initiate another dash in the same direction then interrupt that Dash with another Dash back in the other direction (i.e. do a single Dash Dance) and hit the attack button for an F-smash. But then, the retreating version isn't needed any more because it's possible to F-smash backwards straight out of a Run. Simply run in one direction, hit backwards, immediately let go of the joystick and hit the c-stick set to smash in the direction you are now facing. Without the c-stick it's a bit more difficult; either try to time it by hitting the joystick backwards out of a run and the attack button at the same time, or run in one direction, let the joystick return to neutral so that you skid, then hit the joystick backwards and hit attack.

Pivot F-tilt
Description: Link will run in one direction then do a F-tilt back in the direction he came from.
How to Perform: Dash in one direction, then at any point during the Dash or Run, hit and hold the joystick backwards and hit attack.
Note: Link's F-tilt is made so much better with this very simple tech, that's why I'm mentioning it at all. F-tilt is already very safe on shield if spaced properly due to its high shield push-back and shieldstun. But then combining this with the ability to use it at any point during a dash or run back in the direction you came from, it just makes it the perfect option to shut down approaches. If the opponent is being overly aggressive, maybe it's because you aren't using this. F-tilt becomes very scary if used properly and the opponent doesn't respect it.

Ledge Grab Cancel
Description: Link will use Up-special in the direction of the ledge, only instead of ledge-snapping and grabbing the ledge, he will ignore the ledge and continue past it for as long as you want.
How to Perform: When you're Recovering, Use Up-special towards the ledge, then simply Hold Down (let go of down whenever you want to grab the ledge assuming you're still in range).
Note: This can be useful if someone is standing near the edge expecting you to snap to the ledge, but instead you decide to not grab it immediately, just long enough so that you can hit them. If the opponent throws out a move that hits horizontally or below the stage however, you are putting yourself at risk. I would also certainly not recommend going completely past the ledge unless you know that the Up-special will connect. One other good way to use this tech would be while trying to gimp someone; you jump off-stage and throw out aerials, if they miss you go to recover with Up-special, perhaps facing away from the stage to throw out more hitboxes in their direction, then you hold down to deliberately avoid grabbing the ledge so that they grab the ledge first, then you can come down and grab the ledge immediately after them, potentially setting up a trump situation. Obviously the effectiveness of this will depend on the recovery tool used by the opponent though.

U-air Poke
Description: Link will let go of the ledge and move under it, Jump further under it and stick his sword up through the stage so it reaches the other side at which point he will fall back down and Up-special to the ledge again.
How to Perform: Hang off the Ledge, Hit away from the Ledge and move the joystick towards the stage, Double Jump underneath the stage and Instantly use U-air i.e. before you bump into the roof (then Use Up-special to grab the Ledge again).
Note: This move is more effective on some stages than others due to the thickness of the ground. It is possible to get a stalling effect on a stage where the underside is particularly flat as the double jump momentum will keep you pressed up against the stage so long as you got U-air out in time. This tech is very risky because it forces you to re-grab the ledge, at which point you won't have any invulnerability frames and will (/should) be punished if you either miss the U-air or have it shielded.

Instant Dash Attack
Description: Link will instantly use his Dash attack from a standing position.
How to Perform: Initiate a Dash in one direction then instantly (practically at the same time) Hit the C-stick Down or hit the A-stick in any direction.
Note: The most practical use for this tech is simply to allow you to by-pass the stutter step F-smash that would happen if you tried to do an instant dash attack with the attack button. It can of course however be used to do a Dash Attack when standing/teetering right on the edge of the stage/platform; if you're using the c-stick this is un-recommended as you might accidentally drop off and Dair, but if you're using the A-stick you can just hit it backwards or something so that you don't have to deal with a laggy aerial in the event of you messing up.

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All the formatting
I found a few ways to make this easier like the 'find and replace' function in Word.

Writing the AT's
No that was fun.


Movement and Hookshot

Answer me this...
Pick one of the three choices...

Which of the following is not a difference found in the Japanese version of smash 64?

Link is better
He totally is better. In other words, he got nerfed during the transfer to NTSC and Pal. Get mad.

No Mushroom Kingdom stage
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RAR (Reverse Aerial Rush)
Description
: Link will Run in one direction then Jump Backwards in the original direction you were running.
How to Perform: Simply Run in one direction, Flick the joystick Backwards then almost instantly Jump; this will carry over some of your original forward momentum, but you can then hold the joystick back in that original direction (now it would be holding Backwards) for a smoother looking transition.
Note: This can be useful for both attacking and retreating. For attacking you can use Bairs in the direction of you run, either as an approach (perhaps even a dropkick) or more likely as a way of continuing a combo started by projectiles. As a retreating tool you can run away from your opponent and then just as an example you can do a SH Zair back in their direction to cut off their approach. It's just a very fundamental technique that should be learnt to gain more control over your character and open up more options.

Fox Trotting
Description: Link will travel across the stage in short Dash bursts without ever entering into the Run animation.
How to Perform: Simply initiate a dash in one direction by flicking the joystick and letting it return to neutral, then toward the end of the dash, rinse and repeat.
Note: If you want to turn around without having to bother with the turn around animation, do a single Dash Dance at the end of one of the Dashes, to be specific, do a dash and then toward the end of it initiate another dash in the same direction and then immediately interrupt it with yet another dash input back in the other direction, at which point you can continue doing dash inputs in this new direction. Just note that the usefulness of this tech is character dependant; Link's walk speed is pretty good, so he won't be gaining much by Fox Trotting.

Perfect Pivot
Description: Link makes an initial Dash in one direction then cancels the initial frames of that Dash by simply turning around on the spot (i.e. by doing a pivot).
How to Perform 1: Hit either backwards or forwards to make the initial Dash, then instantly Flick the opposite direction, letting the joystick return to neutral instantly (such that it is only held for a single frame).
How to Perform 2: With A + B = smash turned on and the C-stick left as 'smash', hold attack and special, hit the joystick left or right, then almost immediately hit the C-stick back in the opposite direction. It would help if you had a control set up that made this easier, e.g. assign attack and/or special to a shoulder button.
Note: This tech is all about micro-spacing. For Link this will mean the difference between using attacks too close or using them at the tip of his sword. It allows you to quickly and slightly alter your position and immediately give you all your options back like Jab, U-tilt, D-tilt and D-smash. It can be used in conjunction with Foxtrotting to allow you to do all these options out of a Dash (which is otherwise impossible) or simply to adjust your spacing more effectively as required.

Edge Cancelling
Description: Link will do a certain action such as an airdodge while drifting Forwards towards the edge of a platform or the stage, he will land on the end of it and slide off which completely removes any remaining animation and lag from the previous action, in this case the airdodge.
How to Perform: Simply jump towards the edge of a platform or the edge of the stage, do an action that can be ledge cancelled, hold the joystick forwards and aim yourself so that you land on the very end of the platform or stage. If you've spaced yourself correctly you will then slide off due to your momentum moving forwards.
Note: Yes, it only works if you are drifting forwards. This can be done with Arrows, airdodge and Zair (including an airdodge to Zair) to completely cut their ending lag and animation allowing you to do any other action immediately. This allows us to do lagless Zair's while holding a Bomb too. The arrows have to be fired before you land on the edge. It allows you to do things like FH double arrows on the BF platforms which is interesting. Because it completely cuts out any lag and leaves you able to do aerials immediately, Zair combos into Nair Dair and Fair really well. In fact, against most characters you can combo the Zair used up close into a Dair spike without the need for a DJ if the opponent is right up against the edge, e.g. if you predict their ledge get up. As a means of cancelling the lag of airdodge, edge cancelling is much more useful in smash 4. If you simply space it correctly you've got Brawl airdodges back. That's just the thing though; the spacing requirements. It's much more difficult than you might think to land on the very edge consistently, so unless you've somehow mastered this, it should only really be used in situations where you've got nothing to lose.

Pivot Grab
Description: Link will Run, then turn around and grab while sliding slightly backwards.
How to Perform: Run in one direction, hit the Grab button and then instantly hit Backwards.
Note: This is great if you have a solid read on the opponent approaching as you can dash away and grab back in their direction which should beat out most attacks. It can also potentially be used to run past someone and cross up, though this is more difficult in smash 4. So long as you hit grab first and then hit backwards you won't be accidentally F-tilting.

Tether Cancel
Description: Link will go to tether the ledge but the tethering process will be cut short at some point and the tether will be instantly retracted. This can happen either a moment after having used tether or well after all the swinging is done and you're just hanging there, or anywhere in-between.
How to Perform: Simply hit down at any point after you've hit the grab button to tether.
Note: You can avoid fast falling when you cancel the tether if you quickly flick the joystick down only part of the way. Alternatively, so long as you are rising, hitting down as hard as you want won't FF. If you still have your double jump, this can create some interesting situations in which the opponent thinks you have only the option of retracting the tether and snapping to the ledge, but in fact you can cancel the tether then immediately double jump and hit them with an aerial for example. This is especially true if you telegraph the tether by airdodging first. In fact you can use an airdodge to avoid an attack then immediately retaliate and punish the lag of that attack by cancelling the airdodge with tether (the moment the opponent's attack has ended) then cancelling the tether and hitting the opponent with a DJ aerial. If this wasn't obviously amazing enough, consider the situation where an opponent jumps out at you to hit you with an aerial only to have that aerial dodged and then immediately have you do a DJ Dair spike before their aerial has even ended. If you're holding a Bomb, instantly tether cancelling will allow you to z-drop the bomb and be able to catch it with an aerial or else just z-drop the bomb off-stage leaving you free to react to what happens whether the bomb was dropped inside of the opponent or dropped down on the opponent. Once you've tether cancelled you can immediately tether or grab the ledge because tethering the ledge doesn't count as grabbing it and so it won't make the ledge unavailable to you for the next second. I guess I should mention that if you let yourself tether then swing, and then toward the peak of the swing on the other side you lightly tap down to tether cancel without fast falling, this will result in the momentum being carried over from the swing which can be used for going under stages for example, not that you'd want to do that or anything.

Tether Trump
Description
: Link will tether the ledge as someone is recovering towards it and he'll reel in the tether to grab the ledge the moment after the opponent grabs the ledge.
How to Perform: Simply jump out off stage either backwards or while throwing something backwards to turn you around to face the ledge, then hit the grab button to tether and either hit it again very quickly or hit up on the joystick to reel the tether in without buffering a ledge attack. It's all about the timing of when you reel the tether in so watch your opponent's recovery carefully as the optimal thing to do is grab the ledge the very moment after your opponent does.
Note: Ok to explain, let's first cover the basics. A trump is where a character is forced off the ledge by another character who grabbed the ledge after them. The order in which characters grab the ledge is most important when deciding which of them is trumped; the deciding factor is not which character held onto the ledge first but which character entered their ledge grab animation first. This is important as for example tethering to the ledge has a shorter ledge grab animation, so while it can appear as though the tethering character grabbed the ledge first as they were the first to hold onto the ledge, it is possible for them to have entered their ledge grab animation after the opponent, meaning that the tethering character, having entered their ledge grab animation second, is under no threat of being trumped. When you grab the ledge normally there is a period of time in which you cannot act but also cannot be trumped; the very moment you can act is the moment you can also be trumped if you don't buffer a ledge option. The only ledge options that can be buffered is ledge attack, ledge roll, and ledge jump, meaning that ledge get-up cannot be buffered, nor can hitting away from the ledge to let go of it; if you try to do a ledge get-up or let go of the ledge you will be trumped. When you grab the ledge with a reeled in tether however, you can act immediately and be trumped immediately (if you don't buffer a ledge option). [It doesn't really matter so much if you are trumped out of a tether though because the opponent will be stuck on the ledge for the full amount of time allowing you to DJ recover, or in other words, trumping a reeled in tether ledge grab is the equivalent of doing a trump at the worst possible time.] With a normal trump you have to try to time it so you grab the ledge immediately after the opponent does, otherwise you'll still be stuck waiting on the ledge while the opponent is being trumped and you could miss out on getting a follow-up. But because the tether allows you to act immediately when you grab the ledge, you don't have to time it perfectly at all. Even with the latest/worst timing, you are still able to act the very moment the opponent gets trumped, which technically gives you a guaranteed hit away from the ledge DJ Dair spike, though this is difficult so you'd be better off just getting a Bair or an Up-special. But this can be avoided by buffering a ledge option right? Correct. The non-perfect tether trump can be avoided by buffering a ledge option which you will typically be unable to punish. But if you do time the tether reel in perfectly such that you grab the ledge the very moment after the opponent does, it won't matter if they buffer a ledge option because you'll have that option covered too. When you do a perfect tether trump you find yourself in an extremely beneficial situation. If you immediately do a normal ledge get-up (remember, this cannot be buffered so it requires timing), the opponent is still forced to buffer a ledge option otherwise they will be trumped, or in other words, you still technically occupy the ledge while getting up meaning that the opponent can be trumped while you are in the middle of getting up off the ledge. Remember; doing a ledge get-up or hitting away from the ledge to let go of it cannot be buffered and so these are not options that the opponent can use to avoid being trumped by the perfect tether trump while you are getting up off the ledge, and any attempt to do so in this situation will just get them trumped. If they are trumped then you will find yourself on-stage ready to punish their recovery because you know that they cannot go to the ledge again, otherwise they will completely leave themselves open to being hit due to not receiving any invulnerability frames. If instead they do buffer a ledge option (only ledge attack, ledge roll, or ledge jump) you will be in a prime position to punish any of these options as you will already be on-stage and you will know for a fact that one of these options must be used to avoid the trump (in the event that the trump does happen, you can react to that, but for now you should be focusing on punishing these bufferable ledge options) and you will know for a fact that one of these options must be done at a very specific time which makes punishing much easier.
One issue with using the Tether Trump into an immediate 'hit away from the ledge DJ Dair' is that obviously it 's effectiveness relies on the opponent actually getting trumped, and if they don't get trumped for any reason you are then in a very vulnerable position having to use your Up-B to get back to stage and then being on the ledge without invincibility. One way to counter this problem is to first place a Bomb right on the edge of the stage either by soft throwing it from around the middle or by Z-dropping it, then when you attempt the 'Tether Trump hit away DJ Dair', you will catch the Bomb with your Dair which will then blow up due to the timer running out, allowing you to regain invincibility next time you grab the ledge, making it much safer.

Instant Tether Trump
Description
: The same as the Tether Trump above (read it first for more information), only specifically the fastest way to use it.
How to Perform: On a normal stage you need to have your back right up against the ledge, SH backwards out off stage continuing to hold backwards, and hit the grab button on your 3rd to 7th airborne frame i.e. around half-way up the distance of a SH, then reel it in. On Dream Land however, so long as you start with your back to the ledge, you just need to hold jump, hold backwards and hit grab quickly, even within the jumpsquat frames because it will buffer a tether which will activate on the first airborne frame, then simply reel it in.
Note: Again, read the Tether Trump for more information. On normal stages it will take a bit of practice to get the timing down, and then much more practice to get it out of a RAR, but on Dream Land anyone can do it immediately without practice, it's that easy.

Fall Through Zair
Description: Link will use his Zair and as it is coming out, he will fall through platforms without the Zair being interrupted or cancelled.
How to Perform: Be above a platform in the air, then on your way down use Zair and hold Down as you come to the platform.
Note: Can be used as a surprise attack, but more importantly it is sometimes the only way to have a Zair out at full range if there's a platform in the way (e.g. through one of the side platforms of BF). This can of course be done while holding a bomb to drop it on the platform and then pass through with Zair so long as you keep the joystick in neutral while pressing grab and then immediately hold down to fall through the platform, at which point you can feel free to use the bomb in any number of ways (SH double bomb, Jump catch it with aerial, leave it there for stage control purposes, etc).

Let us meet again, child!
Hee-hee-ho!

Realistic punching sounds
This is actually in the Japanese smash 64, and it's amazing.
 
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Elessar

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Great work Fox. No you just need some videos.

Also, if I was a mod, I would rearrange the order of the stickies to give this one a bit more prominence. However, I'm it a mod. But those are the type of details a mod thinks about I guess. How to arrange stickies so they feel natural and highlight the most important ones.
 

Dumbfire

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Bombslide Back-throw Fake Out
Description: Link dashes forward with a bomb, slides forwards while throwing the bomb forwards then turns around during the slide and does a a fake throw back in the direction he came from, making him slide backwards in the direction of the thrown bomb.
How to Perform 1: You can either do the exact same thing as above only delay the second throw input such that it is done during the latter frames of the dash throw animation, or
How to Perform 2: Use the grab button to perform a dash throw, immediately move the joystick so it is facing upwards, and then in the later frames of the dash throw, hit the a-stick backwards.
Note: The second method is infinitely easier. This bombslide is now very possible to perform consistently again. The benefits of this variation are that you can immediately use Bairs if the bomb hits or use Bairs to retreat if it misses. Also, if you use it right up close to the opponent, it makes you cross-up the opponent, i.e. quickly get behind them where you can immediately jab or grab etc. This is an amazing use of this tech. Think of it as a very quick roll that gets rid of the bomb you were holding to allow you to use any option on your opponent's back. Considering how difficult it is to cross up opponent's character models in this game, this sort of thing becomes even more valuable.
I love you so much for this I am donating to the National Fox Welfare Society.
 

Fox Is Openly Deceptive

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Thanks guys!

There are still a few things that I've figured out a while ago that I will likely need to add as I remember them. For example I just remembered the Tether Trump, so I'll have to add that after this. When I get round to fixing up the metagame thread, it is entirely possible that as I read through it I'll be reminded of more things. In any case, I'll let you know what I add when I add it.
 

DarkDeity15

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Could it be possible to down throw bombslide with meteor bombs? That could be useful.

Edit: Also, this.
Bomb bair walls seem pretty underrated as well imo. It's pretty good when it comes to spacing because the bomb covers you pretty well. Especially if you retreat after dropping the bomb. It makes Bair pretty safe that way I feel.

Opinions?
 
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Lawz.

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Could it be possible to down throw bombslide with meteor bombs? That could be useful.

Edit: Also, this.
Bomb bair is pretty great.

If you're dropping the bomb and retreating with bair, it can definitely keep you a little safer and puts the opponent in a tricky situation. But be aware, since picking up/catching items is way easier in this game, it is possible for someone (Sheik for example) to dash attack, which will simply have her pick the bomb up. Just be aware of this.

It would make this setup more useful if you cook the bomb so that when they dash attack, it will just explode in their face. I'm sure you could practice this situation pretty easily as the opponent would then rather try to approach cautiously or wait out the bomb. This is obviously just a basic scenario so you'd have to experiment and go through the options of each character.
 

Fox Is Openly Deceptive

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Could it be possible to down throw bombslide with meteor bombs? That could be useful.

Edit: Also, this.
As far as I know, currently there is no down throw bombslide otherwise I would have listed it; there is only the fake out version.

As for the Bairs with bombs thing, I had already made a brief mention of this in the note of the C4.
 

DarkDeity15

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Here's a list of theories, ideas, & proven (by me) or otherwise known stuff I've been thinking about lately. And no, I still haven't updated my game.

#1: If you plant a bomb right at the edge of a stage, you can intentionally push it off the edge with your collision box. Bombs can also be placed right at the top of a ledge by tether canceling with a bomb while being just over the stage.

#2: You can safely go deep with a Dair and not worry about SDing by catching a bomb near the ledge with it instead of tether canceling. You can also let the bomb cook depending on how deep you want to go if you're good at timing it (the bomb explodes in exactly 3.66 seconds, so keep that in mind). You can't do this with meteor bombs though of course.

Link might also be able to do an aerial, drop the bomb off stage and then grab the ledge right after if timed correctly. It could be done with a FH Uair.

#3: Ledge trump > meteor bomb? First hit bair > meteor bomb setups should be considered.

#4: You can laglessly and easily pick up a bomb with Uair's autocanceled startup for potential mindgames or even as an alternative to Z-catching a bomb from the ground/near the ground when falling downward. Especially since almost all of Uair's startup can be auto-canceled. You can do the same with Dair, but it's less effective.

#5: Why is Uair so neglected? It's such a good move lol. Not only can it be auto-canceled as long as the hitboxes aren't still active, but it has kill potential and can auto-cancel after a full hop. You can also frame trap airdodges with it due to how long it stays out, aside from you having to be right under an opponent by the time the airdodge ends. Heck, it doesn't even have all that much landing lag and can be comboed out of in certain MUs (the bigger and/or taller characters). Uair meteor bomb catch > Uthrow > Usmash, anyone?

#6: Tether bomb drops while being done very close to the ledge can frame trap ledge grabs and create off stage pressure for those that like to hug the stage, much like Villager's Fsmash, only that the bomb falls more slowly and obviously has less kill potential (if you count out meteor bombs). Cancel the tether and be prepared to follow up if a normal bomb hits your opponent or to gimp a baited airdodge while they attempt to recover. But of course, you can drop a bomb offstage after a SH Bair, Z-drop right up against the ledge, or simply soft throw a bomb at the ledge for similar results. And if you don't feel like going for a ledge grab frame trap, you can always tether cancel and drop a bomb from further out in order to put the pressure on more distant opponents.

#7: TCBS (Tether Canceled Bomb Shine) follow-ups should be experimented with against human players. This could be really effective. No need to follow up or even tether cancel though if you have meteor bombs equipped, in which case it is called a TSM (Tether Shine Meteor).

#8: You can more consistently phoenix bomb a Lucario or Mewtwo (most likely) with a FF Dthrown bomb if the bomb hits their tail (works with other "tailed" characters like Fox & possibly Diddy as well). The timing is still pretty strict, though. Same can be said for hitting short characters like Kirby or MK in general, which was already mentioned earlier by Foxy in the old AT thread.

#9: Meteor bombs are bombslides' best friend.

#10: "Dribbling" meteor bombs (as in throwing the bomb at your feet and then catching it again, or not) might have a use besides being flashy (I like to think of it as Link's version of multi-shines :awesome:). Since the bomb is always active while it's moving, this means that there is always an active hitbox inside of Link as long as it's out of Link's hand. So technically if you're being rushed down by an opponent, you can dthrow the bomb and then step back a little while they either run into the bomb (usually while going for a dash grab) or are forced to take action in trying to not get hit, which you can then punish. Even if you don't punish, you've at least managed to stop or slow them from harassing you. It's also possible to mindgame by continuously dribbling the meteor bomb and then throwing when someone least expects it. I can imagine it being pretty confusing for someone to approach you at first. Watch out for the 2.5 second long fuse though. Manage your time wisely.

#11: I've always found JC turn-around throwing bombs out of a run super useful when I find myself being rushed down or just to catch opponents off guard depending on the MU. It stops rush-downs right in their tracks almost every time, whether they're hit by the bomb or are forced to shield, roll forward or spotdodge, which you can punish depending on how far away they are. You can also punish wiffed grabs, dash attacks, ect. almost immediately. If they can jump out of the way in time, that just means that you're too far away. I find that it's more effective the closer they are to you, due to them having less time to react properly and because you can capitalize off of a bomb when they're hit if they get really close. Just don't do it too often against good players though, otherwise it'll become predictable, resulting in them just power shielding through your bombs or even catching them.

Feel free to go ahead and test this stuff out for yourselves.
Here's a good list of stuff for you guys to consider. But mostly just #s 2, 3, 4, 8, & 10.
 
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Siledh

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Great stuff. I really need to work on my ATs and this will definitely help. Great resource for everyone.
 

Drigo Toes

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What a great job!
I just love the joke with the shine lol.

PD: Did you know that Spin Attack 2.0 can be used in reversal? Just flick the control stick in direction of the stage a little before input spin attack
 

DarkDeity15

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As for the videos, I've still got some footage from when I was re-recording for the old AT thread if you're interested. I just need to do a little bit more editing on them.
 

Dumbfire

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The Bomb Spike
Description: The blast of the bomb will go through the stage and hit your opponent up into the stage, resulting in a stage spike.
How to Perform: Simply make a bomb explode on the ground near the edge when an opponent is under the ledge, not hanging on without invincibility frames.
Note: Unfortunately this is a bit stage specific as the stage needs to be solid yet thin enough for the Bomb blast to reach through.
Do note it works on BF, just soft bomb throw so it lands on the edge of the stage. Standard manoeuvre in my BF edge guarding now.

For example I just remembered the Tether Trump, so I'll have to add that after this.
I've been using that lately, it works great when someone like Fox or Pit recovers low. I did it about 5 times in a row on a Pit with Bair in FG yesterday while testing, after which he only recovered on stage lol.

I'm trying the new bombslide method with z throw and a-stick while holding up, but it's incredibly difficult for me. FSK has it down already, but I get it like once out of a 100 attempts.
 

FSK

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So I found a new bombslide animation I guess (My favourite so far). Maybe you foxy know about it, but I never seen it before. Give me your NNID so I can send you a replay of it.

Or maybe Zelkam can record it?

Anyway I will name it the FSK slide.
 
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Fox Is Openly Deceptive

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What a great job!
I just love the joke with the shine lol.

PD: Did you know that Spin Attack 2.0 can be used in reversal? Just flick the control stick in direction of the stage a little before input spin attack
Well I'm glad someone got that pun. I saw 'sheen of our tails' and I was like... 'shine of our reflectors' is way more fitting.

Yeah that was an oversight, I'll quickly edit that in now. I mentioned it for the SAF and SAFC but must have forgotten.
As for the videos, I've still got some footage from when I was re-recording for the old AT thread if you're interested. I just need to do a little bit more editing on them.
Thank you but Zelkam had already offered to do that for me before I posted the thread. He's going to make a video for each AT and so there won't be any need for further videos.
Do note it works on BF, just soft bomb throw so it lands on the edge of the stage. Standard manoeuvre in my BF edge guarding now.

I'm trying the new bombslide method with z throw and a-stick while holding up, but it's incredibly difficult for me. FSK has it down already, but I get it like once out of a 100 attempts.
I should definitely word it so it sounds more stage inclusive. I'll get round to that in a sec.
That's weird... Are you sure you have tap-jump off? It's not supposed to be overly difficult.
So I found a new bombslide animation I guess (My favourite so far). Maybe you foxy know about it, but I never seen it before. Give me your NNID so I can send you a replay of it.

Or maybe Zelkam can record it?

Anyway I will name it the FSK slide.
My NNID... I have no idea what it is... Ah jeez I didn't even have one. What a hassle. I guess I have to get one eventually anyway.
Ok, my NNID is Openly_Deceptive
 

FSK

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Well I'm glad someone got that pun. I saw 'sheen of our tails' and I was like... 'shine of our reflectors' is way more fitting.

Yeah that was an oversight, I'll quickly edit that in now. I mentioned it for the SAF and SAFC but must have forgotten.
Thank you but Zelkam had already offered to do that for me before I posted the thread. He's going to make a video for each AT and so there won't be any need for further videos.

I should definitely word it so it sounds more stage inclusive. I'll get round to that in a sec.
That's weird... Are you sure you have tap-jump off? It's not supposed to be overly difficult.

My NNID... I have no idea what it is... Ah jeez I didn't even have one. What a hassle. I guess I have to get one eventually anyway.
Ok, my NNID is Openly_Deceptive
Sent request. Accept and I'll send the replay. Look for the bombslide I do after I take the first stock of the DDD.
 

Dumbfire

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Cat and I have pulled off the FSK slide too incidentally, it looks *really* strange.

Also, I can no do the reverse fake-out consistently, finally. Now to show it to Mr-R to convince him to play Link again -- I figure it's flashy enough for him.
 

DarkDeity15

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Anyway I will name it the FSK slide.
No. Be creative dude.

You should also just upload a vid of the bombslide on youtube. Doesn't really matter how imo. I wish to see it for myself, but I can't go online due to there being no wifi, so I can't recieve your replay. :upsidedown:
 
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Dumbfire

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No. Be creative dude.
FSK doesn't prey upon those idiotic vanities like hopeful half-wits such as yourself. In your brief time here you've already shown every weakness, fault and misdemeanor known to man, from spewing platitudes to 'discovering' ******** new tricks, and from dissing respected members to insulting men on mere whims, but with this comment you have confirmed that you don't understand even our most basic, idiot-proof jokes. There is nothing more repulsive on this planet than your desperate attempts at fitting in here, and your stupendous failure is testament to your unaccommodating selfishness and unbelievable incompetence. Just shut your mouth and learn whatever you can here -- your own miserable attempt at setting up an AT thread was a failure, now stand by and let competent people handle it.

You should also just upload a vid of the bombslide on youtube. Doesn't really matter how. I want to see it for myself but I can't go online due to there being no wifi. :upsidedown:
If you weren't some poor semi-idiot whose dreams outlast his capacities you'd be able to do it yourself. Otherwise show some patience -- it's a good virtue, especially for meddlesome fools.
 
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Fox Is Openly Deceptive

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Ok so after waiting forever to see a replay from FSK, I got bored and went into training mode to muck about and see if I could just stumble upon it. And I think I did.

Description: Link will dash forwards with a bomb, slide forwards while throwing the bomb forwards then immediately casually stroke his hair XD. (It looks kind of like he's slowly throwing a bomb behind his head without a bomb. I've never seen this animation before.)
How to Perform: While holding a bomb, initiate a dash in any direction, use the grab button to do a dash throw, instantly move the joystick upwards and then in the later frames of the dash throw hit the a-stick towards one of the diagonal indents. With the a-stick, if you hit the diagonal perfectly it normally does a neutral attack, and yes, you can use any diagonal you want.

Any ideas for names?
 

FSK

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I've never seen that specific animation before. It's almost as if it was intended or maybe theres some secret bomb tech we don't know about yet. The hunt begins.

Furthermore, this seems like a fakeout as well, so there might be a version where he actually throws the bomb backwards.

For anyone not know what the hell we are talking about, heres some screenshots supplied by the filthy MK main Cat

http://imgur.com/lpryPkr

http://imgur.com/isZos44

http://imgur.com/ps7vVLL
 
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Zelkam

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I've never seen that specific animation before. It's almost as if it was intended or maybe theres some secret bomb tech we don't know about yet. The hunt begins.

Furthermore, this seems like a fakeout as well, so there might be a version where he actually throws the bomb backwards.

For anyone not know what the hell we are talking about, heres some screenshots supplied by the filthy MK main Cat

http://imgur.com/lpryPkr

http://imgur.com/isZos44

http://imgur.com/ps7vVLL
Isn't that the bomb pull animation?
 

Fox Is Openly Deceptive

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It's weird, like it sort of reminds me of how Diddy spawns bananas.
The thing is, this specific animation is programmed into the game. All that is happening here is that the dash throw is being interrupted by it. So then, the question becomes how do we do it so that the animation happens while holding a bomb?

Anyway, for now, I'm thinking of calling this the Bombslide Hair-Flick or Fringe Fix or something.

And no, it's not the bomb pull animation. It's slower and doesn't go all the way back or anything. There's a visible difference.
 

Zelkam

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It's weird, like it sort of reminds me of how Diddy spawns bananas.
The thing is, this specific animation is programmed into the game. All that is happening here is that the dash throw is being interrupted by it. So then, the question becomes how do we do it so that the animation happens while holding a bomb?

Anyway, for now, I'm thinking of calling this the Bombslide Hair-Flick or Fringe Fix or something.

And no, it's not the bomb pull animation. It's slower and doesn't go all the way back or anything. There's a visible difference.
...is it the giant bomb pull animation? :awesome:

Also, my vote goes for the "too sexy toss"
 
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DJTHED

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Isn't that the bomb pull animation?
Actually no, this is what is called "LightThrowDrop", at least that's what it's called in the Brawl animation files. You'll only ever really see this animation play when items are on, because this animation plays when an item you're holding expires... or something. So if we were to name this properly, it would be a "Drop throw fake out/bombslide", I guess.
 

FSK

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Actually no, this is what is called "LightThrowDrop", at least that's what it's called in the Brawl animation files. You'll only ever really see this animation play when items are on, because this animation plays when an item you're holding expires... or something. So if we were to name this properly, it would be a "Drop throw fake out/bombslide", I guess.
That is awesome detective work! Then we might be able to find a bombslide throw with a parabolic backwards trajectory?
 

Zelkam

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Lol I think it's funny that we didn't even consider this because we never play with items on.
 

Fox Is Openly Deceptive

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That is awesome detective work! Then we might be able to find a bombslide throw with a parabolic backwards trajectory?
I doubt it. Let me explain.

My theory on why this happens at all:
Essentially, what you're seeing here is the animation that happens when Link is holding an unspecified item and presses grab out of a standing neutral position. I believe that this particular throw animation was then specifically programmed to not work with certain items, i.e. bombs and bananas and turnips etc. The bombslide fake out kind of changes things though. Whenever you see a fake out in a bombslide fake out, what you are seeing is purely the animation unaffected by the item and indeed unaffected by whether or not you are even holding an item. The a-stick method of bombslide fake outs makes it so you can get the second animation throw without having to take into account the fact that you are holding up on the joystick, meaning that you get the benefits of the joystick being held upwards allowing for the bombslide effect to happen at all while being able to throw nothing in any direction you want. When you hit diagonally on the a-stick, you get this same benefit and the input is a neutral attack. Combined with the grab button still being held (I'm beginning to think that this is necessary so I'll include that in the official write-up) what you end up with is a neutral grab input being made without the programming saying that this should be a throw because you're holding a bomb but with the benefit of holding up after a dash throw to allow the animation to come out anyway. And what does a neutral grab input do when holding an item without the specified programming flag to make it a throw? It makes Link throw it behind his head. So I believe it will be impossible to do this with a bomb because the programmed flag will still be there to make it a bomb throw forwards.
 

Siledh

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Nevermind, found it.
 
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Siledh

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Ok so after waiting forever to see a replay from FSK, I got bored and went into training mode to muck about and see if I could just stumble upon it. And I think I did.

Description: Link will dash forwards with a bomb, slide forwards while throwing the bomb forwards then immediately casually stroke his hair XD. (It looks kind of like he's slowly throwing a bomb behind his head without a bomb. I've never seen this animation before.)
How to Perform: While holding a bomb, initiate a dash in any direction, use the grab button to do a dash throw, instantly move the joystick upwards and then in the later frames of the dash throw hit the a-stick towards one of the diagonal indents. With the a-stick, if you hit the diagonal perfectly it normally does a neutral attack, and yes, you can use any diagonal you want.

Any ideas for names?
Styling Fake Out? ;)


Does anyone know what it is that impacts the momentum of a bombslide? Sometimes I'll slide reasonably far and then other times, I'll barely move after throwing the bomb in the air? Is it simply a matter of inputting the Up Throw too soon?
 
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