Q&A The Smash 4 Question and Answer Thread

[Codaption]

What I'm interested in is watching every single tournament for every single region in the world that plays this game and learning more about the top players in this game/region.
With a game like ultimate marvel vs capcom 3 I'd simply search the title of the game and set the youtube filter to "today" so I could at least know everything that gets uploaded every day. That way I could always know when every individual scene uploaded something and use that as a jump-off point to learn how every tournament in every scene went.

With smash however this is criminally inefficient considering how much online play and "casual" content gets uploaded relating to this game. In the Smash 4 community there are big name uploaders who get the majority of the views coupled with an eternally vast number of streamers who run 10 view streams and upload videos that not a soul in the world watches. My aim is to find the competitive pockets who don't get internet fame, keep up with their scenes so I can be informed and of course learn more about smash 4 from different sources.

Although very large the smash community isn't very flat, in the sense that information and video content visibility is not that good for a majority of the people who create worthwhile content.

That is a very valid point. There are a lot of youtubers that play smash, but not all of them are of the competitive bend- and if they are, they aren't particularly big names. (Alphrad is a good example of this; he's good, and you can tell that he's good, but he's not top player material by any means.)

In that case, I'd look up CLASH tournaments on YouTube. They have videos from a variety of different tournaments and games, and most of the brackets I've watched have been from their channel.

 

[Nd_KakaKhakis]

I feel like some of the tournament streamers I'd check out regularly are.

Clash Tournaments (Northeast, All over)
TeamSp00ky (NYC, lots of other content as well)
VGBootcamp (Maryland)
Colorado Smash (Colorado...)
Versus Gaming (Florida)
Smash Studios (Northeast, All Over)

Which is a solid list but not nearly all encompassing and very east coast US biased. I'd love any more suggestions from anyone to flesh this out more fully.

 

[E.Lopez]

Dumb question maybe, but: is there any way to edit a user name in the Wii U game? I would hate to create a new name/ profile just because I want to make a change to the name and have to start with a clean slate in terms of my records and stats.

 

[Codaption]

I feel like some of the tournament streamers I'd check out regularly are.

Clash Tournaments (Northeast, All over)
TeamSp00ky (NYC, lots of other content as well)
VGBootcamp (Maryland)
Colorado Smash (Colorado...)
Versus Gaming (Florida)
Smash Studios (Northeast, All Over)

Which is a solid list but not nearly all encompassing and very east coast US biased. I'd love any more suggestions from anyone to flesh this out more fully.

Hopefully somebody else can shed some light on this, I don't really know what other guidance I can give.

 

[MintChipper]

I feel like some of the tournament streamers I'd check out regularly are.

Clash Tournaments (Northeast, All over)
TeamSp00ky (NYC, lots of other content as well)
VGBootcamp (Maryland)
Colorado Smash (Colorado...)
Versus Gaming (Florida)
Smash Studios (Northeast, All Over)

Which is a solid list but not nearly all encompassing and very east coast US biased. I'd love any more suggestions from anyone to flesh this out more fully.

Showdown Smash (California)
TourneyLocator (Texas)
These streams are what I can remember in terms of Smash 4.
Also here's a question, what's a frame trap? Is it another term for punishing someone while they're in lag?

 

[Codaption]

Showdown Smash (California)
TourneyLocator (Texas)
These streams are what I can remember in terms of Smash 4.
Also here's a question, what's a frame trap? Is it another term for punishing someone while they're in lag?

A frame trap is something that traps an opponent so that they have no frames to input a move before a followup. So.....yeah, pretty much what you said.

 

[MintChipper]

A frame trap is something that traps an opponent so that they have no frames to input a move before a followup. So.....yeah, pretty much what you said.

Okay then, thank you!

 

[shadowrohas]

I'm having a really bad problem as of late, and it's getting increasingly frustrating.

For one reason or another, it seems like whenever I'm in a tournament or otherwise important scenario, I always choke. It gets frustrating because there are times where I'm winning, and I KNOW that I can beat the person based on how they're playing against me, but it seems like every time I'm going to win they end up coming back and beating me. It's even worse with comeback moves like the Waft, K.O. Punch, and Lucario's aura mechanic. It usually makes me internally salty enough to just stop playing, and then I'm not getting any experience.

I have trouble closing out stocks as, anyone really, and the nerves thing is really hindering my progress. I feel like it's my greatest weakness right now.

 

[Codaption]

I actually have a similar problem myself, oftentimes I'll get all the way up to 150% before landing the kill. Which is bad for a Puff player, although I at least know how to fix this issue somewhat.

 

[zollotiller]

Hi guys. First post and a question: Is there a thread or video database on here that shows every characters' moves and all the hitboxes/knockback/frame stats?

I'm new to Smash 4, and never played Brawl, and I'm struggling to learn all these new(to me) characters. I've logged >100 hours so far and I'm still frequently surprised by some move that I didn't know had a hitbox or even existed lol. Any advice?

 

[kinbobbobkin]

Hey,

I was wondering. How can I fight against rushdown characters and Little Mac players. Every time I try to fight, I get knocked off the stage fast and when recovering I die because of said recovery.

 

[herpyderpherper]

I want to start attending tournaments in person( been doing mostly online) but i have one problem, my Parents are reallllllly overprotective, i cant host tournaments because they think that people could come who just came to take advantage of me, and they're incredibly suspicious if a tournament is hosted anywhere but at a huge venue or business because they could be doing the same thing, anyone have any solutions?

 

[tr3v]

How long does it take to get to better at Smash 4? I've played smash for a while, but just recently started playing competitively. I've been playing against high level CPUs for a month or two, and been trying out For Glory for about 2 weeks. As of now playing my main (Pikachu), I can beat level 9 CPUs 95% of the time, but my For Glory win rate is only 35%. I know CPUs and actual players are much much different, and I've tried to stop playing CPUs as much. However after 2 weeks of practice, I've seen little improvement and am starting to get a little discouraged and annoyed. Does anyone have any insight on how long it takes to become a relatively competent player? Should I be improving already, or am I expecting to much in too little time?

 

[NickRiddle]

Most of the best players have been playing competitively for years... Don't expect to be good in weeks wtf

 

[tr3v]

Most of the best players have been playing competitively for years... Don't expect to be good in weeks wtf

I don't mean like, compete in tournaments good. I just mean hold my own on For Glory and with friends.

 

[Mr. Gency]

I want to start attending tournaments in person( been doing mostly online) but i have one problem, my Parents are reallllllly overprotective, i cant host tournaments because they think that people could come who just came to take advantage of me, and they're incredibly suspicious if a tournament is hosted anywhere but at a huge venue or business because they could be doing the same thing, anyone have any solutions?

Why can't they supervise a tournament if you host one yourself? Why wouldn't they be able to tag along with you when you go to a tournament? What do they think someone would do to you with them around?

 

[herpyderpherper]

They think pedos will come because it would give them the chance to meet kids, i convinced them to let me go to tournaments, perverse things

 

[Mr. Gency]

They think pedos will come because it would give them the chance to meet kids, i convinced them to let me go to tournaments, perverse things

I can't imagine they'd target someone while in a place populated by several other people who would no doubt call the police.

 

[Codaption]

I can't imagine they'd target someone while in a place populated by several other people who would no doubt call the police.

Especially if that target is the TO. Nobody's THAT crazy.

 

[Uraniulvl]

Can someone please tell me what actions jab cancel. I know shield and crouch do. Anything else?

 

[Blazink]

I'm about to buy a Wii U. Unfortunately, i don't have enough money for a 32 gb version, Will ssb4 work on a standart Wii U?

 

[Chez G.]

With Lucas coming soon, to me, that means one thing: My replays will be sent to the Shadow Realm. I don't have a capture card for my 3DS and Wii U, so it's not like I can simply upload my replays in video form. Is there a way someone can do it for me?

 

[herpyderpherper]

I know playing good people constantly helps you get better, but is the opposite also true? Ive been playing some really bad people recently(my middle school) and all of them approach with dash attack, which i respond to by sheilding, i do the same thing now when fighting people who are better and get grabbed for it

 

[Pixel_]

Can someone please tell me what actions jab cancel. I know shield and crouch do. Anything else?

According to the wiki (http://www.ssbwiki.com/Jab_cancel), you can't actually jab cancel in this game.
In the other games, though, you can also turn around to cancel it.

I'm about to buy a Wii U. Unfortunately, i don't have enough money for a 32 gb version, Will ssb4 work on a standart Wii U?

GB is just the amount of space it can handle. If you get an 8GB Wii U, it should work, but the space will probably run out pretty quickly. I also found this for other comparisons: http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/need-quick-response-wii-u-8gb-vs-32gb.453671033/

With Lucas coming soon, to me, that means one thing: My replays will be sent to the Shadow Realm. I don't have a capture card for my 3DS and Wii U, so it's not like I can simply upload my replays in video form. Is there a way someone can do it for me?

http://www.wikihow.com/Record-Video-Games

I know playing good people constantly helps you get better, but is the opposite also true? Ive been playing some really bad people recently(my middle school) and all of them approach with dash attack, which i respond to by sheilding, i do the same thing now when fighting people who are better and get grabbed for it

You can't practice things like the neutral game if the person you're playing against doesn't even know what that is.
Also, better players should mix it up with a grab.



lol, I forgot my own question.

EDIT: ok, now I remember
How do you punish air dodges? Depending on the person, I can easily tell when someone's going to air dodge, but I can't tell when to throw out a move. Usually I do it either too early while their air dodge is still out, or too late when they air dodge again.

 

[JinormusJ]

So after repeatedly getting my butt handed to me on For Glory 1v1s, I've come to the realization I suck.. But I want to get better!

I don't know what I'm doing, it's like I know what I should be doing but I constantly flub my combos/tilts and I have zero muscle memory. I've been maining Shulk, and while it seems everyone else around me is getting better, I feel like I'm getting progressively worse

I've been watching YouTube Videos with Shulk mains and started picking up on the techniques. His bread and butter is his massive N-air, F-air paired with SHFFs, quick jab, throws, all his tilts, MArts, and U-spec; really the list can go on, as Shulk has a lot going for him, but this isn't an in depth analysis.

It seems like in every for glory match I play, I'm constantly having an issue with spacing and using nairs in the wind just to be punished on my landing; I can Fair-SHFF pretty well offline, but I realized more people use X instead of Y for SHFF and now my muscle memory is all jacked up. Sometimes I get to the point in a match where I just get flustered and am randomly mashing buttons, like literally hitting Z, X, A, and R at the same time

My problem isn't that I don't know how to use my character; I know most of Shulks strong points and have watched more than enough videos to know what combos are good and how I should be utilizing my strengths and covering my weaknesses. Now I'm hearing that Shulk is one of the harder characters to use: perfect starting character for someone looking to practice the basics right?

I think I just suck

I'm not using dodging, spot dodging, and blocking like I should and I hardly, if anytime, use shield-grabs. Not to mention Grabs.. Oh God the grabs.. I miss like 9/10 of every grab I go for. I'm super inconsistent with my SHFF, sometimes I'll get them down perfect, but a majority of the time I'm getting a full hop and using a Nair or Fair without a FF cause I timed it too late and kill my spacing allowing me to get easily punished. And spacing.. I know zero of it; many of my attacks just miss and are left resonate in the wind with no target..

I feel like I've gone from bad to decent, to pretty bad again. I don't really know where to go from here: like I feel I don't even know, understand, and utilize the basics, and I'm trying to get into these advanced techniques and it's killing my morale.

Anyone have any good advice and resources for someone who pretty much sucks and needs to git gud?

 

[Emperor Dedede]

I'm not necessarily a pro or anything, but I do have some ideas.

• Try out some other characters: You may like how Shulk plays, but you may just not be great at him. Think about who else plays somewhat similarly, but is different. Or try out a heavyweight character or something.
• Record your matches: If Shulk is really your guy, then try recording your matches. You will be able to see what you do wrong or what you could have done in a situation.
• Learn advanced techniques: Make sure that you can (Some of these are extremely easy. Don't take offense if it seems like I am insulting you) Tech, Spot Dodge often, attack out of shield quickly, and predict. These are all extremely important. Also look up other things (some of which seem impossible) like Shield Dropping.

That's all that I can tell you, hope that it helps!

 

[JinormusJ]

I'm not necessarily a pro or anything, but I do have some ideas.

• Try out some other characters: You may like how Shulk plays, but you may just not be great at him. Think about who else plays somewhat similarly, but is different. Or try out a heavyweight character or something.
• Record your matches: If Shulk is really your guy, then try recording your matches. You will be able to see what you do wrong or what you could have done in a situation.
• Learn advanced techniques: Make sure that you can (Some of these are extremely easy. Don't take offense if it seems like I am insulting you) Tech, Spot Dodge often, attack out of shield quickly, and predict. These are all extremely important. Also look up other things (some of which seem impossible) like Shield Dropping.

That's all that I can tell you, hope that it helps!

Thanks! I appreciate the tips, I've been playing many different characters; Pikachu, Greninja, Link: one thing I've noticed is the they're not all super heavily dependent on the advanced techs as Shulk, or I just haven't played them deep enough to notice. Shulk is absolutely dependent on timing, spacing, and SHFF; and I suck at all 3

Honestly, i haven't been recording matches at all, but I instantly know when I make a mistake, so I guess I got that going for me: one of the common ones I make I almost *always* regret is that I dash and go into a dash-jab instantly when I want to actually do a D-smash, or one of my many tilts. This will either 1. Have me dash right through my opponent leaving me way open on the other side, or 2. the target back-dodges and follows up with their own dash-jab punish/grab. Is there a certain way I should be handling my grounded approach; sometimes I feel like I'm blindingly running into my opponent and they always upperhand me with the first blow.

Some of the advanced techniques are easy; I was able to pick up SHFF without even knowing it was an advanced tech just by watching gameplay videos. However, my execution is poor at best there and I guess that should just come with more practice. It all comes down to muscle memory and I guess I'm just frustrated I'm not picking it up instantly being godlike at it

 

[Charey]

I think you should record you matches even if you think you know what mistakes you are making. Often it's not just a mistake as in you picked a bad option, sometimes it's a good option but you used it so much that you are predictable, I've done that a lot without even noticing until after I watched the recording.

With missed inputs and ATs, you just need to practice in training mode, there isn't any magic to learning them other then muscle memory. Don't worry about how other people do things just use the controls that feel right to you, that is the whole reason we have the option to change the button settings.

 

[Spirst]

@ J JinormusJ I have merged your thread with the existing general Q&A thread. Just a heads up.

 

[JinormusJ]

I think you should record you matches even if you think you know what mistakes you are making. Often it's not just a mistake as in you picked a bad option, sometimes it's a good option but you used it so much that you are predictable, I've done that a lot without even noticing until after I watched the recording.

With missed inputs and ATs, you just need to practice in training mode, there isn't any magic to learning them other then muscle memory. Don't worry about how other people do things just use the controls that feel right to you, that is the whole reason we have the option to change the button settings.

I'll definitely start recording and researching matches; there was a match where I fought someone that almost telekinetically knew where I would be before I went there and charged a smash in that direction multiple times

Overall; I think I'm going to be putting Shulk down for a while seeing as his Mastery is well above my skill level; I'll just be sticking to characters that are easier to play with for now until my skill level increases, and maybe some day when I get better I'll pick him up again.

Also, I started practicing using X for jump instead of Y in my SHFF and I want to say I almost prefer it better. I felt more natural to me after a bit of practice and I found it shaved milliseconds off my input time by just flicking the bottom of the button versus sliding left on the Y.

Thanks for the tips though, and I'll definitely start recording my matches! Like you implied, and a lot of other people have said: I don't notice what I'm doing wrong in the moment, Hindsight is 20/20

 

[Jaycen_Thunda]

Quick question, How do you use and read frame data?

I have used the search function and all I see are numbers, but no guide telling someone how to use the frame data.

 

[Codaption]

@JinormousJ I might be a bit late to the conversation, but do you understand the concept of the neutral game? You can know the combos and options of every character in the game and still fail if you don't have a firm grasp on what being in the neutral state is.

The basic jist of being in neutral is when both players are on about the same ground in terms of state control and options. The name is sort of misleading, as this doesn't mean that they're EXACTLY the same; some characters do better in the neutral than others, such as Shiek, and that may skew things. For the most part, though, the players themselves are on even ground.

Once you decide which character you want to swap out for shulk, head on over to their boards and ask around a little more about it- my description doesn't really give it justice, and the players there will know better than anyone what that particular character's options are in the neutral. (Do this again after going back to shulk, too- it'll help!)

 

[JinormusJ]

@ Codaption

Honestly, I have no idea what that means

I'm new in general to the Smash competitive community and I don't even know the core basics, which is why I'm thinking I'm losing so many matches. I switched to Pikachu since he was my ''main" during my non-competitive Melee days and I've been doing a lot better. He's feels a lot less technical so I found myself playing with a level head more often: I felt like I had more control during my matches and my approaches were better. It was like I slowed the whole game down and was actually able to plan my moves and attacks accordingly; like, I knew what my opponent wanted to do and where I needed to go to get the strike or grab in first. Saw myself dodging/rolling only when I needed to, actually using my spotdodges, saving my dash-smash for punishes, and even started using shield grabs and mind games. Win a couple games to boot

I mean.. I feel like I'm doing way better, but I'm still not where I know I need/want to be. I'm new to the boards, so I wanted to ask where exactly I should go to get some basic pointers?

 

[Dairantō Smash Brothers]

I wanted to make a wishlist thread for Mii Fighter DLC outfits, but I'm not sure which board I should put it in. Anyone mind helping me?

 

[Nah]

Can someone explain OoS to me? I'm not sure I really understand it.

 

[CYBERSHADOW_01]

Is it worth it to buy a WiiU for Smash 4 if that's the only thing I'm gonna play on it and I already have it on 3DS? I kind of want to build stages.

 

[Untamed]

How am I supposed to get better at smash 4? My friends don't play smash, and there is no close by smash scene where I live. The only practice I get is on lvl 9 cpus and FG. I was thinking about A's ladder, but I'm not close to be being good enough for it, so I'm at a lost of what to do.

 

[Codaption]

Can someone explain OoS to me? I'm not sure I really understand it.

Oos means out of shield, and oos options are attacks or tech you can perform out of a shield to punish somebody for hitting yours. The most common and basic oos option is a grab, for example.

@ Codaption

Honestly, I have no idea what that means

I'm new in general to the Smash competitive community and I don't even know the core basics, which is why I'm thinking I'm losing so many matches. I switched to Pikachu since he was my ''main" during my non-competitive Melee days and I've been doing a lot better. He's feels a lot less technical so I found myself playing with a level head more often: I felt like I had more control during my matches and my approaches were better. It was like I slowed the whole game down and was actually able to plan my moves and attacks accordingly; like, I knew what my opponent wanted to do and where I needed to go to get the strike or grab in first. Saw myself dodging/rolling only when I needed to, actually using my spotdodges, saving my dash-smash for punishes, and even started using shield grabs and mind games. Win a couple games to boot

I mean.. I feel like I'm doing way better, but I'm still not where I know I need/want to be. I'm new to the boards, so I wanted to ask where exactly I should go to get some basic pointers?

I'm not exactly the most qualified to explain the nuances of competitive smash (or most things, really ), so don't feel bad about not understanding my explanation.

If you're looking to play any character, the best thing you can do is head to their boards, and Pikachu is no exception. His should be easy enough to find, but just in case here's a link: http://smashboards.com/forums/pikachu.399/ Every character has a Q&A thread dedicated entirely to them in their boards, so feel free to ask anything you want there. That includes what exactly the neutral game is- it'd be much better if you could learn it both in a general sense and from Pikachu's perspective, and chances are both of these are things you'll find someone would be happy to explain to you.

Good luck! Hopefully this all wasn't too daunting and can point you towards better help.

 

[JinormusJ]

I'm not exactly the most qualified to explain the nuances of competitive smash (or most things, really ), so don't feel bad about not understanding my explanation.

If you're looking to play any character, the best thing you can do is head to their boards, and Pikachu is no exception. His should be easy enough to find, but just in case here's a link: http://smashboards.com/forums/pikachu.399/ Every character has a Q&A thread dedicated entirely to them in their boards, so feel free to ask anything you want there. That includes what exactly the neutral game is- it'd be much better if you could learn it both in a general sense and from Pikachu's perspective, and chances are both of these are things you'll find someone would be happy to explain to you.

Good luck! Hopefully this all wasn't too daunting and can point you towards better help.

Thanks for the reply; while I was waiting I dug around te boards and found what I was looking for: while I didn't exactly completely understand what is meant by neutral game, I've been watching high-end competitive matches with Pikachu on YouTube and playing myself and kind of vaguely understand.

I'll definitely be heading over to the in-depth character boards and gleaning from the information there. Thanks again

 

[Codaption]

No problem! I'm glad I could help out.