Q&A The Luigi Q&A Thread (CHECK HERE BEFORE MAKING A THREAD PLEASE)

[Ndzablou]

Luigi's recovery is very linear due to his up b sending him straight up and his side b sending him only straight left and right. And if Luigi loses his jump, unless the Luigi can do the jumpless tornado Luigi will most likely not make it back. Leaving Luigi's recovery very susceptible to to being gimped or spiked.

 

[samuroleon]

Could anyone give me tips on the Villager matchup? I find it really hard to approach him and his nair interrupts most of my attempted combos.

 

[Ndzablou]

Could anyone give me tips on the Villager matchup? I find it really hard to approach him and his nair interrupts most of my attempted combos.

To approach villager I would recommend a mix of fireballs, fairs, dairs, and perfect shields. Fairs and perfect shields are good when villager tries to wall you out with fairs and bairs. Fireballs also destroys the Lloyd rocket once it starts moving. (Don't quote me on this, this is very hit and miss, but it's worth a try). I would recommend staying mid-range to close-range, making villager more susceptible to grabs when he whiffs an attack. But don't be afraid to move away to get your barrings and to try resetting to neutral. If villager uses nair a lot to get out of your grab combos, try attacking with one airal (fair) then fastfall and shield if villager nairs into your shield its a free grab.

 

[sims796]

Is there, say, a mentorship program on this site of some sort? Like a place where I can play against pros and get judged on how I preform to better my game? I've hit a stalemate with my Luigi game, and I don't think that For Glory will get me anywhere. Opponents aren'tt good enough, until I run into an obvious tourney player on the rare occasion, and those are too far between for reliable training.

 

[Ndzablou]

Is there, say, a mentorship program on this site of some sort? Like a place where I can play against pros and get judged on how I preform to better my game? I've hit a stalemate with my Luigi game, and I don't think that For Glory will get me anywhere. Opponents aren'tt good enough, until I run into an obvious tourney player on the rare occasion, and those are too far between for reliable training.

I think this might be a good place to start.
http://smashboards.com/threads/the-official-luigi-finder-thread.396240/#post-19352004

 

[Razmakazi]

nvm, found answer to my question lol

 

[yoshi8984]

Where/when is the sweetspot to Meteor Smash with Luigi's Dair? Apparently D-Throw > Dair can work but I've never gotten it to spike. o.o

 

[Ndzablou]

Where/when is the sweetspot to Meteor Smash with Luigi's Dair? Apparently D-Throw > Dair can work but I've never gotten it to spike. o.o

Luigi's down air will only spike if you hit your opponent with the first frame of the attack. And I believe (but don't quote me on this) the spike hit box is on luigis ankles or butt.

 

[Samura1man]

Luigi's meteor hitbox is inside of him, don't quote me either, I may be wrong.
I have done meteor so many times that I can see that hitbox for meteor is inside him, which is why it's hard to hit, I think his body to legs is meteor hitbox.

 

[Kursed]

How does the Boss spike work?

If you don't know what a Boss spike for luigi is, watch this match between Shofu and Boss, as Boss Down+B's on the edge of the stage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVAZN1_4HrU

Goto 0:45 for the first spike, and there is plenty more. has anyone else been able to preform this move?

 

[Ndzablou]

How does the Boss spike work?

If you don't know what a Boss spike for luigi is, watch this match between Shofu and Boss, as Boss Down+B's on the edge of the stage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVAZN1_4HrU

Goto 0:45 for the first spike, and there is plenty more. has anyone else been able to preform this move?

First to answer you question on how the spike works, the bottom hitbox of Luigi's cyclone send you downward, so if if your opponent falls out the bottom of the cyclone (usually by you rising with the cyclone) without getting hit with the final hit, they will be sent downward with a considerable amount of hitstun usually resulting in them not being able to recover back to the stage.
The key thing about the spike is you need to perform the jumpless cyclone to consistently be able to spike them, which requires you to be able to mash the B button around 14 presses per second. I recommend you check out this thread http://smashboards.com/threads/luigi-able-to-cyclone-recovery-without-2nd-jump.379965/
I've personally been able to perform this consistently using pato_'s technique.
I feel that more Luigis should try to incorporate the jumpless cyclone into their gameplay sense not only can it help get early kills, but it can also greatly help Luigi's limited recovery options.

 

[Kanzaki]

I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but who are good secondaries with Luigi?

 

[TriTails]

I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but who are good secondaries with Luigi?

I went with Sheik.

Combo oriented characters suits me well. She also covers Luigi's bad MUs because... well, I don't think she loses to anyone lol.

 

[Yonder]

I went with Sheik.

Combo oriented characters suits me well. She also covers Luigi's bad MUs because... well, I don't think she loses to anyone lol.

Heck you may as well drop Luigi and just use Sheik

Kidding! I like ROB a lot for projectile wars on characters who do not have reflectors [Toon Link, Megaman, avoid against speedsters]. Game and Watch is nice for mobility, characters with reflectors, and characters that can be edgeguarded[Falcon, surprisingly, Falco, Villager although he can't be edgeguarded, Sheik due to crouching needles and bucketing up B].

And Mewtwo cause he's a boss. [Um...Toon Link, Megaman again. Kind of nice against Mac.]

Generally, I have all my bad matchups covered for the most part. I use a lot of characters actually and have been experimenting with Kirby, WFT]

 

[Funkermonster]

To gimp Luigi's Green Missile with most characters, do I challenge it or punish its endlag?

 

[Kursed]

To gimp Luigi's Green Missile with most characters, do I challenge it or punish its endlag?

Unless your character is really fast (falcon, fox, etc) don't challenge it because the actual missle will send you back if you don't perfect shield correctly anyways. And it's even worse if luigi gets a misfire for you because you don't expect it and it kills.

 

[Funkermonster]

Heck you may as well drop Luigi and just use Sheik

Kidding! I like ROB a lot for projectile wars on characters who do not have reflectors [Toon Link, Megaman, avoid against speedsters]. Game and Watch is nice for mobility, characters with reflectors, and characters that can be edgeguarded[Falcon, surprisingly, Falco, Villager although he can't be edgeguarded, Sheik due to crouching needles and bucketing up B].

And Mewtwo cause he's a boss. [Um...Toon Link, Megaman again. Kind of nice against Mac.]

Generally, I have all my bad matchups covered for the most part. I use a lot of characters actually and have been experimenting with Kirby, WFT]

You still don't have covered tho, ROB and Mewtwo are honestly not great matchups against him.

ROB is big slow, and is combo food; Mega Man bullies chars lacking mobility and he is no exception. His recovery is not that strong either and since he is a floaty character, he dies from our Uair too early.

Mewtwo is tall, light, slow, and floaty; which are all a terrible combination of attributes to have on the same character and hurt him quite a bit. Being the 2nd lightest in the game makes him die way too early and since he's floaty or Uair can kill him easy too

Just sayin.

 

[Yonder]

You still don't have covered tho, ROB and Mewtwo are honestly not great matchups against him.

ROB is big slow, and is combo food; Mega Man bullies chars lacking mobility and he is no exception. His recovery is not that strong either and since he is a floaty character, he dies from our Uair too early.

Mewtwo is tall, light, slow, and floaty; which are all a terrible combination of attributes to have on the same character and hurt him quite a bit. Being the 2nd lightest in the game makes him die way too early and since he's floaty or Uair can kill him easy too

Just sayin.

I know. I use them against Mega cause they are better than Luigi versing him, not for advantage. I'm not always fighting for the advantage in a matchup, just closing the gap a bit.

 

[E.Lopez]

I haven't spent a lot of time searching through all the guides and threads in the Luigi community, so I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere, but in general how should I choose what to follow-up on Luigi's d-throw, particularly at kill %'s?

I know cyclone is a popular finisher off of d-throw and can kill, but recently I've been watching Boss play and have seen just about everything work off of d-throw, including Up+B and even n-air can kill. So how do you choose what to use? Is it based on opponent's %, or is the choice based on the opponent's DI? I assume part of the choice also comes from risk, such as Up+B being easily punishable if missed vs. n-air which is safe.

 

[TriTails]

I haven't spent a lot of time searching through all the guides and threads in the Luigi community, so I apologize if this has been covered elsewhere, but in general how should I choose what to follow-up on Luigi's d-throw, particularly at kill %'s?

I know cyclone is a popular finisher off of d-throw and can kill, but recently I've been watching Boss play and have seen just about everything work off of d-throw, including Up+B and even n-air can kill. So how do you choose what to use? Is it based on opponent's %, or is the choice based on the opponent's DI? I assume part of the choice also comes from risk, such as Up+B being easily punishable if missed vs. n-air which is safe.

N-air is NOT safe on whiff. You can be punished for it by some characters.

Cyclone all the way. It works like a charm on floaty characters, while isn't too shabby to use against fast-fallers (Except D3. Dunno what is that guy made of). You should be Cyclone-ing when your opponents reach 110% and beyond. When executed properly, it catches ALL DIs. Has your opponent not reach that yet, D-air spike to B-air/N-air or U-air them.

If you want to sytle, down throw, walk below them, shield, and see their reactions: If they airdodge, MAKE SURE THEY ARE LANDING TOWARDS IN FRONT OF YOU (Fast-fallers often do. While floaties are uncommon), and FAYAH JAWNP PAWNCH! U-smash can be used too, with lesser risk:reward. Same goes for F-smash. This can net you early (And most likely infuriating) kills.

Take note, that there are NO benefit letting people out of cyclone. Instead, you can and will get punished by a jumped U-air from below. So DON'T push it. You are better off trapping and launching them and put them in diadvantage rather than letting them fall and juggle you instead. This is especially risky when fighting someone like ROB or Rosalina (And pre-patch Diddy. But pre-patch is pre-patch). I have seen top players constantly push their cyclone and let people fall off it, THAT means disadvantage. Take it slow, and don't rush the kill. You'll get it eventually.

 

[Sir_Africa]

So quick question! I know that the more I mash the more damage/likely I am to kill my opponent. My question is, do I have to hold up and/or down while mashing to help concontrol direction? Or does it not matter? Btw I have no idea how to recover with cyclone, I can never seem to move upward with it only down.

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

No you don't have to hold up or down. I find it easier to keep people in the Cyclone if I drift left or right with it.

There are two ways to recover with Cyclone. Easy) Double jump then immediately mash Cyclone. Hard) Mash Cyclone at about 12-14 times a second. No double jump required.

 

[ScAtt77]

What are your go-to low% combo follow-ups on fast falling characters such as Falcon? Standard d-throw > f-air strings generally haven't worked for me if my opponent SDIs down and away, so I was wondering if there was some other combo that I was missing completely.

 

[Ndzablou]

What are your go-to low% combo follow-ups on fast falling characters such as Falcon? Standard d-throw > f-air strings generally haven't worked for me if my opponent SDIs down and away, so I was wondering if there was some other combo that I was missing completely.

For fast fallers at low percents d-throw>fair>fast fall>nair usually works and you may be able to get a regrab after the nair, then more "traditional" combos start to open up for Luigi. That's why fast fallers are known to be combo food for Luigi.

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

For fast fallers at low percents d-throw>fair>fast fall>nair usually works and you may be able to get a regrab after the nair, then more "traditional" combos start to open up for Luigi. That's why fast fallers are known to be combo food for Luigi.

In addition to this, after the Nair, you can start an Utilt string -> grab or Usmash. A lot of times I'll do jabs after Nair. You can do the whole jab combo (if positioning is what you're going for) or opt for another grab after the second jab but a character like Falcon could jab you before the grab. There are a lot of options based on DI during the beginning hits of the combo.

 

[Steelballray]

Hello. A new member and a new Luigi player over here. I started playing him recently and I'm having success with him so far. I have most of the down throw combos down (both the damaging and killing ones) but I have still some troubles with his sliding and spacing.

What I'm here to ask for is a general advice. My smash rivle and me decided to take our game up a notch so I want advices on what I should be learning in general. Both with Luigi and any kind of general tactic I should keep my eyes on.

I'm sorry if my question is too vague. I just seek to improve my game and all. Also if any of you feel helpful enough, I would appreciate it heavily if you can go into sparring matches with me. (I have both 3ds and Wii u version)

 

[TriTails]

Hello. A new member and a new Luigi player over here. I started playing him recently and I'm having success with him so far. I have most of the down throw combos down (both the damaging and killing ones) but I have still some troubles with his sliding and spacing.

What I'm here to ask for is a general advice. My smash rivle and me decided to take our game up a notch so I want advices on what I should be learning in general. Both with Luigi and any kind of general tactic I should keep my eyes on.

I'm sorry if my question is too vague. I just seek to improve my game and all. Also if any of you feel helpful enough, I would appreciate it heavily if you can go into sparring matches with me. (I have both 3ds and Wii u version)

1. When you are juggled, don't land on stage. But reset to the ledge if you are really high up.
Luigi has poor landing options. His D-air does not hit downward very good, Cyclone is punishable, and N-air is only as surprise element due to Luigi's falling speed. Do a jumped Missile or Cyclone, get above the ledge, fast-fall while airdodging--You should pass by the ledge by there--, SJP back. However, opponents can punish this with D-airs or stage spikes. Another trick is to weave in and out (Not that you can move much) to confuse them and when you see the opportunity, fastfall N-air down!

2. Do footsies correctly.
Assuming I got the meaning of 'footsies' right, always try to SHFF aerials. Retreating F-air and D-air are very good at this. Mix it up with Fireballs. Never dash grab unless it's a punish.

3. Shorthops do well against approaches.
Luigi's shorthop is fairly high. This can be useful to dodge attacks and B-air them right after. Optimal for punishing low attacking dash attacks and dash grabs.

4. Be patient.
There are some attacks on shield that you can never punish no matter what (Ike's F-smash, Ganon's F-smash, Falcon's F-smash, *Insert tons of F-smashes here*). The solution? Let you slide. No. You can't punish. Don't try it. Instead, you can use the slide to your advantage and force some characters to approach you again! (Ike and Ganon, for examples, have a hard time approaching Luigi. They push you back on shield? Be the one who is laughing because they has to approach you because of Fireballs) Some more other characters such as Mega Man and Pac-Man, you'll generally want to stay close to them as you can't force them to approach. Either spotdodge or roll to negate the sliding completely (But these are punishable), or try to fight the slide by dashing or shorthopping, and fire a Fireball if you can.

5. Be passive if you can help it.
No. I don't mean horrible things like letting Mega Man corner you with lemons as you do nothing. But for non-projectile characters (Ike, Ganon, Marth, Falcon, DK, etc), you don't need to approach them. Instead, start throwing Fireballs, both from standing and shorthopping. Make them commit something, and punish OR play it lame, Fireballs again. Against some MUs, it's the best if you just sit by and wait patiently instead of charging in with your hands blazing. Definitely approach against Mega or Pac though... even if Luigi does pretty horrible on that.

I just got less lazier. Mainly because CCI thread is currenty inactive. Ask other Luigi mains for more details, I'm not good at putting my playsytle to words.

 

[Steelballray]

1. When you are juggled, don't land on stage. But reset to the ledge if you are really high up.
Luigi has poor landing options. His D-air does not hit downward very good, Cyclone is punishable, and N-air is only as surprise element due to Luigi's falling speed. Do a jumped Missile or Cyclone, get above the ledge, fast-fall while airdodging--You should pass by the ledge by there--, SJP back. However, opponents can punish this with D-airs or stage spikes. Another trick is to weave in and out (Not that you can move much) to confuse them and when you see the opportunity, fastfall N-air down!

2. Do footsies correctly.
Assuming I got the meaning of 'footsies' right, always try to SHFF aerials. Retreating F-air and D-air are very good at this. Mix it up with Fireballs. Never dash grab unless it's a punish.

3. Shorthops do well against approaches.
Luigi's shorthop is fairly high. This can be useful to dodge attacks and B-air them right after. Optimal for punishing low attacking dash attacks and dash grabs.

4. Be patient.
There are some attacks on shield that you can never punish no matter what (Ike's F-smash, Ganon's F-smash, Falcon's F-smash, *Insert tons of F-smashes here*). The solution? Let you slide. No. You can't punish. Don't try it. Instead, you can use the slide to your advantage and force some characters to approach you again! (Ike and Ganon, for examples, have a hard time approaching Luigi. They push you back on shield? Be the one who is laughing because they has to approach you because of Fireballs) Some more other characters such as Mega Man and Pac-Man, you'll generally want to stay close to them as you can't force them to approach. Either spotdodge or roll to negate the sliding completely (But these are punishable), or try to fight the slide by dashing or shorthopping, and fire a Fireball if you can.

5. Be passive if you can help it.
No. I don't mean horrible things like letting Mega Man corner you with lemons as you do nothing. But for non-projectile characters (Ike, Ganon, Marth, Falcon, DK, etc), you don't need to approach them. Instead, start throwing Fireballs, both from standing and shorthopping. Make them commit something, and punish OR play it lame, Fireballs again. Against some MUs, it's the best if you just sit by and wait patiently instead of charging in with your hands blazing. Definitely approach against Mega or Pac though... even if Luigi does pretty horrible on that.

I just got less lazier. Mainly because CCI thread is currenty inactive. Ask other Luigi mains for more details, I'm not good at putting my playsytle to words.

Thank you! This is very informative and I was strongly struggling with each problem you mentioned. I promise I would put all your advices to use.

If anyone else has anything to add, please do comment.

 

[MonkeyArms]

Nah, Luigi's landing options are pretty good.
If you're opponent is just sitting on the ground waiting for you to throw out something, you can just land. If they come to attack you you can use the cyclone or nair. If your feeling lucky shield pressure cyclone there shield.
Heck, the fact that Luigi has a cyclone makes his landing much more solid than most characters. Also back air is pretty safe on shield landing on the ground.

Luigi can also spot dodge to stop his traction after his shield gets hit, so those f-smashes are punishable.

 

[Sir_Africa]

Hey guys! So I'm having trouble getting the kill as Luigi. What are Luigi's easier or guaranteed kill set ups? I always try to d throw and then charge the upsmash and if they air dodge I kill at 100 % but that's just a gimick obviously. I know cyclone works but sometimes ppl air dodge out of it even if I try to go horizontal with it. I can't seem to do what larrylurr does with the d throw into instant bair so I'm out of ideas. Any advice guys?

 

[ThunderSt0rm]

Practice learning the timing when you can act after a dthrow. From there, practice inputs for kill options like learning how to bair (i.e. turning yourself around before you jump up and bair). Dthrow cyclone takes a bit more work to get used to because some characters are harder to keep in the cyclone because they tend to fall out easier.

 

[MonkeyArms]

Soft spotted nair into cyclone, down throw into cyclone.
Near ledge back throw.
Retreating up smash.
Down smash on platforms.
Up b lag punish/Up B oos.
Jank misfire.
Down throw stylish air dodge reads.
Cyclone spike edge guard.

I mean they aren't kill set ups for the most part but you generally don't need one outside of the two I mentioned.

 

[STiCKYBULL3TZ]

Hey guys! So I'm having trouble getting the kill as Luigi. What are Luigi's easier or guaranteed kill set ups? I always try to d throw and then charge the upsmash and if they air dodge I kill at 100 % but that's just a gimick obviously. I know cyclone works but sometimes ppl air dodge out of it even if I try to go horizontal with it. I can't seem to do what larrylurr does with the d throw into instant bair so I'm out of ideas. Any advice guys?

Nothing is really guaranteed unless you perfect your inputs but the best thing you'll get to a GUARANTEED kill setup is:

Dthrow -> Bair
Dthrow -> Cyclone
Dthrow -> Dair spike
Dthrow -> sweetspot Nair

 

[Steelballray]

Hi. I know I can't hold a candle for ya all but my Luigi is getting really good for my level. And so I wanted to ask permission to make an Anti Sheik thread. I know the match up against her is heavily a negatvie one for us, but with the basic thoughts that our damage is better than hers and that our kill abilities are also much better I am starting to feel a little more positive. I want the thread to be a place where us Luigi players dump all the info we have on her, all the habits that Sheik players tend to have that we should be wary of or try to exploit, best ways to DI or Nair her combos etc. So what do you think? I know we can discuss these things here or the match ups thread but its Sheik we are talking about, and I think every bit of information that would help our situation against her is worth documenting properly.

 

[Underhill]

As luigi, How do you deal with Sheik and Toon Link's camping? Hopefully, any advice can be helpful with the MUs?

:He creates a wall for me which is hard for me to pass and forces me to use fireballs until I find a opening. The boomerang and the bombs are a pain for me to deal with, as so as his z-air to limit my air appoarch when I tried to short hop. Sometimes, I get in safely and edgeguarding ain't a problem for me since I do fine on that field.

:Her speed and projectile gives me a lot of trouble when it comes to appoarching. Them needles cut off my fireball and she uses them to camp me. Sometimes, I tried to shield-grab her fairs, but it backfires on me. I know she has trouble killing, but her camping and speed gives me serious problems.which makes fox and dance trot almost useless.

 

[NobleClamtasm]

Hey guys, I just picked up Luigi. Is it just me, or does Luigi's traction really ruin a lot of his potential punishes? Whenever you shield some attacks, it pushes you too far for you to punish. Am I doing something wrong here, or is that just the inherent nature of Luigi?
Also, as Dthrow -> cyclone a guaranteed follow up? I can't quite seem to land it consistently.

 

[ENAZ]

What are his main kill moves? I main him in melee and do great with him combo wise here but I can't seem to kill until 150%, his fair and dair can't kill for sh*t

bair, dair (spike), lucky gmissle, last hit on down b, fsmash, and up b(use it to punish landings) all kill relatively early. also back throw isnt too bad.

 

[ENAZ]

Hey guys, I just picked up Luigi. Is it just me, or does Luigi's traction really ruin a lot of his potential punishes? Whenever you shield some attacks, it pushes you too far for you to punish. Am I doing something wrong here, or is that just the inherent nature of Luigi?
Also, as Dthrow -> cyclone a guaranteed follow up? I can't quite seem to land it consistently.

i wouldnt use d throw to cyclone. id use dthrow to short hop up air, then try to tag them again. if you miss the second one, or they air dodge, try a cyclone and youll usually get it. cyclone is god for retreats or when you miss

 

[kesterstudios]

does anybody know when luigi's aerials end specifically b-air?

 

[Werfy123]

Hi. People I have been wondering whether SDIing to the left or right when Luigi tries a dthrow cyclone is a better alternative to SDIing downwards since during cyclone's launching hitbox, there are two different hitboxes. Luigi's body and legs will send you vertically upwards whereas the arm hitbox will send you in a like 75 degree angle which allows for longer survival. I've seen people surviving against Boss at 170 because of that.

I cannot test how consistent it is because I only have the 3ds and FG Luigis are a rarity.

Can somebody test this?