~~The Triforce of Courage~~ An Advanced Guide to Link v1.2

[NintenJoe]

And maybe a link to my Link stage discussion thread as well? I've covered the neutral and most of the CP stages. But meh I hope to see some sort of advancement in it some time. Oh yes and we need a sticky plz.

There's a link to your guide somewhere... I think it was in the "analyzing the battlefield section".

 

[Silencer~]

very nice, it pretty much puts a lot of the ideas and AT's of link into one thread. once again, very nice.

 

[Swordplay]

I motion to replace Skylers guide with this one....


Also you talked about B-reversals as well as arrow cancels but not combining those for reverse arrow cancels.....something very important for link.


P.S. .I wish Link had bombarrows like it showed in the "water bomb" vid.....that would be cool.

P.P.S this guide makes me want to play you joe and bust out my white Link......how bout it???? I'll add you...if you say yes from the Link finder....

 

[Gahlo]

As stated, very very nice guide. This is going to help me immensely.....probably already widely known, but I find fast falling a lot easier by tilting the joystick down on airs.

 

[monkeyx4]

Nice dude. i like the style part of ur tread

 

[Looticforgothispassword]

Dont grab a lot, links grab is easy punished and if you are grabbing a lot the opponent will start baiting you.

 

[4Serial]

*Don't miss grabs a lot

Found out some cool stuff yesterday you can add in here
If you use the wii-mote sideways, pivot boosting is SO EASY. I have a feeling as time passes, wii-mote Link users will **** the ground.
I was playing vs Wario and I did a grab release > d-air if he jumps. You can do u-smash, u-tilt, up+b might be a possibility, People generally **** Wario with this grab release crap lol Stuff still needs to be tested. We need stuff like this to win this match up... Grabbing Wario is good, but really hard work.
On Ness and Lucas, you can grab release f-smash (i think it might be too slow for lucas, but i get it on ness all the time), d-smash, re-grab if they don't expect it, jab cancel re-grab or whatever you feel. Grab release > jab cancel > re-grab is really cool. Grabbing Ness and Lucas is ****.

didn't feel like making another thread so i'll just slip this in your thread lol

shieldgrabbing isn't the only way to do it, you can jab cancel > grab and stuff... you can mix things up. pivot boost > dashing behind them if they're shield > pivot grab
****
Link's pivot grab is pretty cool.

 

[sasook]

Found out some cool stuff yesterday you can add in here
If you use the wii-mote sideways, pivot boosting is SO EASY.

Wow, that's creepy. I was just trying out the wiimote and discovered this yesterday too in training mode because I wanted to control both players to test out something for the dtilt reverse spike.

Then I wondered how do Links using the wiimote pivot boost? So I tried it.

That's really creepy, and kinda cool at the same time lol.

 

[4Serial]

LOL! I was using the wiimote so i could reach the computer and i accidently went into the wifi waiting room with it and played around
It's a shame that your pivot boosting ability goes up, but your short hopping ability fails... **** wiimote lol shielding is weird too.

i think i've confirmed it, Wario grab release > d-air is almost guaranteed. It has a really weird timing to it though. If Wario tries jumping out, the d-air will hit him. If he lets himself fall down, the d-air will hit him. If he air-dodges, he will get to the ground and the d-air will hit him as soon as the air-dodge is finished. I THINK that nothing Wario has in the air can beat Link's d-air from above him, but I could be wrong. Don't fast fall it. You can grab release > u-smash or u-tilt to rack up damage.

 

[Warriors]

whoa. Another Link guide. I thought it was over after the fourth one.

sorry but this guide is so long, i didn't bother reading it.

why do link players love showing off how good they are with him?

"I've been playing him since 64" or whatever. Hey, but its OK. if you time to make one of these go ahead.

don't get me wrong. these guides are actually very well written. Kudos to you

 

[Swordplay]

whoa. Another Link guide. I thought it was over after the fourth one.

sorry but this guide is so long, i didn't bother reading it.

why do link players love showing off how good they are with him?

"I've been playing him since 64" or whatever. Hey, but its OK. if you time to make one of these go ahead.

don't get me wrong. these guides are actually very well written. Kudos to you

Because hes ****ing Link.....Duh.

 

[Warriors]

Because hes ****ing Link.....Duh.

that's a good reason. lols all around

 

[ShieryuSilvr]

I was wondering, which move is best to use when your opponent is behind you? The attack comes out of the shield, so spin attack, Dsmash??

 

[sasook]

I was wondering, which move is best to use when your opponent is behind you? The attack comes out of the shield, so spin attack, Dsmash??

I don't think dsmash can come out directly (you spot dodge) but usmash and spin attack are good for people behind you. Of course, the ideal thing would be to never let the opponent get behind you lol

 

[ShieryuSilvr]

I don't think dsmash can come out directly (you spot dodge) but usmash and spin attack are good for people behind you. Of course, the ideal thing would be to never let the opponent get behind you lol

Great, thanks Sasook

 

[HeroMystic]

I don't think dsmash can come out directly (you spot dodge) but usmash and spin attack are good for people behind you. Of course, the ideal thing would be to never let the opponent get behind you lol

U-tilt works well too if your opponent happens to be at high percentage.

 

[sasook]

Oh yeah, how could I forget that? Utilt is probably better at high percents, it always seems like it can KO easier than the usmash.

 

[-Mars-]

Oh yeah, how could I forget that? Utilt is probably better at high percents, it always seems like it can KO easier than the usmash.

That's usually because the upsmash is decayed, you also aren't as easily punished if you whiff on the utilt.

 

[sasook]

Hey NintenJoe, congrats on the sticky man. You deserve it.

Hopefully mine can get stickied someday too.

 

[Onomanic]

Sasook, yours will get stickied. Don't worry :D Both are good guides, just both are for different types of people.

(And dang, I haven't been on in so long School. And I need to play Smash too.

 

[HeroMystic]

Oh yeah, how could I forget that? Utilt is probably better at high percents, it always seems like it can KO easier than the usmash.

That's because the U-Smash has less knockback but more damage due to three hits. On another note, the U-tilt has more range on the back-end than the U-smash does, so I'd actually use the U-tilt more than the Usmash for that situation.

 

[Juicy_g]

Best

Best Link guide I have ever seen and probably the best Link guide out there.

:thumbsup:

 

[Onomanic]

NintenJoe, I admire the fact you believe I play competitive Link but I haven't gone to one tourney yet. :/ I'd like to but I haven't found one. You can keep me in the Competitive Blue users but I just wanted to point that out. But I'm the only Link user I know in North NJ. If any other Link mainer in North NJ is out there, PM me or something. I feel so lonely being the only North NJ Link mainer :<

 

[Balys]

You are Jesus and wrote a beautiful guide, Juicy G smells like poo, and I will see you either today or tomorrow at school.

 

[NintenJoe]

Opening Post updated, added a lot of stuff, suggestions are welcome. I'm going to start working on match-ups soon!

 

[LinkSpecialist]

Hooray for updates.

 

[Agent Snop]

I love the guide ,best one ever.

 

[sasook]

NintenJoe, as unskilled as I may be, I consider myself an excellent grabber with Link. That being said, the trick to successfully landing grabs without having to jab cancel or shield grab is learning to space in a way so that as the opponent is coming down from the air, the clawshot will grab them when they are too close to the ground to airdodge but not yet on the ground to spot dodge.

It sounds tricky, but if you focus on the enemy's feet, it's easier to time. When their feet are just above the ground, shoot out a grab. It takes practice, A LOT of practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy.

Parts of this video explain what I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbyAvoWJ9no

Easiest to see against Pit and Jigglypuff.

Come to think of it, I should put this in my guide as well.

 

[Swordplay]

I think this would be a good guide to post basic Link **** combo's....

I've been kinda looking for a thread (preferable stickies) that would host as a database to basic Link combo's.

Let me know what you think joe

 

[sasook]

I think this would be a good guide to post basic Link **** combo's....

I've been kinda looking for a thread (preferable stickies) that would host as a database to basic Link combo's.

Let me know what you think joe

Why not just make a thread of your own?

 

[4Serial]

nah, I don't really like stickies and threads showing basic combos.
You can usually just see those in every video of a match or compilation of a decent Link and pick it up.
Nothing is guaranteed in Brawl anyways.

U-smash is best for racking damage, but if you haven't used it yet in a match, it will kill between 130%-140% for most characters. U-tilt can combo more easily at lower percents and kill at 120%-130%. U-tilt is generally better because there's less ending lag, and I think it comes out faster. U-tilt is better for killing.

Think of both of the moves like this (lolol math)
U-smash is like x15+20=knockback, U-tilt is like x25+5=knockback
x = the percentage the other person is at, the number next to it (15 or 25) is the knockback multiplier, the +'d number (20 or 5) is the minimum initial knockback
At first, u-smash will seem stronger, but as you reach higher percents, u-tilt will be much stronger.
U-tilt is a lot more versatile as well since you can easily jab cancel into it.

oh and congrats on the sticky lol

 

[Finns7]

**** combos. I practice My **** combos daily. I can get you **** combos, I just cant upload.

 

[Swordplay]

post

You have never played finnz....

His style of play is all about massive **** combo's. Learning these combo's will help any Link player. It is a lot easier to integrate **** combo's into your game than practicing the defensive "don't get hit" approached used by deva.

Basic combo's are just that...Basic combo's. **** combo's are when you string basic combo's together for massive ****.

It is what Finnz excels in and as a person who plays him frequently, I have a good understanding of how valuable they are to Link. They can truely progress is metagame if more players were able to pull these off and Link would become a better character. Problem is not many people know how to string the combo's together for MASSIVE ****.



Since it was suggested that I should start my own thread I might just do that.

 

[Finns7]

Most things are not guaranteed in brawl. Idk man I go to training mode and just create stuff man, you gotta be creative. They arent melee shiek combos but they rack up damage, you have to be familiar with your char's moveset in every situation thats how I feel. Why do dair after a ariel bomb throw down (at low %) why not do a nair (hit them with the part that moves them slightly) and then jab cancel to grab to jab..........orgasmic. You have to be creative. This is off topic but today I was playing against my lil bros diddy (I was samus) and he was spammin nanners. So I dashed attacked him grabbing the nannner hitting him and while he was landing ( he had low %) I sh threw it down and did a dair the to bair. Sure he could of DIed the dash but he didnt. And if he does then learn to do something that will work against that.

Falco has cg's that get you to like 40-50% or even death so a quick 30 %+ is always good and can help you get back in a match. Now getting the ravish process started is harder when you face more experienced players.

 

[4Serial]

pfft, I've done that before. lmaooo eh, not the samus v diddy one. I just think that if you know Link's moveset, things just work out <_< I feel it's common sense for most decent Link players. But then again, that's probably asking for too much. I guess it would be helpful anyways if you made a guide with a video or something. Aerial bomb down throw > d-air at low percents is stupid, and it's even really risky at high percents. N-air is the best choice, but you could use b-air or f-air, probably percentage dependent. I usually u-tilt after i get a n-air if i'm close enough, but grab or jab is good too. But why n-air when you can footstool? That **** is amazing.

either way, my post about 'combos' not being guaranteed wasn't directed at anyone, or did i intend to insult anyone. was just sayin. i guess i'll take it back because a thread would be useful.

i know finns is good lol if deva and legan say he is, i'll take their word for it. i haven't seen him play, but i would love to. I know Link can string moves together, I'm not discrediting his ability, but almost any string can be broken by a single airdodge or shield or something.

great guide btw

 

[Finns7]

Yes everyone knows the bomb Nair its bread and butter. If you can predict the airdodge or shield you can punish them, Im just saying do creative things after the nair or whatever you choose to do. Footstool is not as consistent imo, Im mainly defensive until I see a opening idk I have a wierd playstyle.

 

[AeroLink_the_SoulMaster]

My philosophy is adapting to the space my opponent creates for me. What I would do is projectile spam at long distances trying to get my opponent to approach, instead of approaching myself. Once approached I turn defense to offense and go for broke. If my opponent runs away from the ****, the rain of projectile mayhem will follow him, baiting him/her again to approach for another session of beat down with a can of whoop*** opened. xD

 

[Deva]

One thing to fix in the guide that I've been trying to tell the Link community for the longest time is that the form of jab canceling you see is incorrect. Jab canceling is crouch canceling between jabs to cancel the ending frames of a jab so you can initiate another jab faster. In melee, you could crouch cancel into any attack, which is why you could jab jab d-smash in melee. It doesnt work like that in brawl. They fixed it so you can only jab cancel into other jabs with a cc. You cant jab cancel into a d-smash or an u-tilt. By waiting long enough for the third jab not to come out, your waiting long enough for a new attack to be used. For that reason 3 jabs is much faster than 2 jabs and an u-tilt. It's slow enough that in most scenarios it will be avoided by good opponents. It should instead be listed in the mindgames section as a mix up that actually does occasionall work even on good opponents, but it's not a combo, and it's not jab canceling. You should also change the section for jab canceling to what I stated it was eariler.

And now that that's all out of the way,

Great guide. Really awesome. Definately the most in depth guide I've seen.

 

[Blubba_Pinecone]

One thing to fix in the guide that I've been trying to tell the Link community for the longest time is that the form of jab canceling you see is incorrect. Jab canceling is crouch canceling between jabs to cancel the ending frames of a jab so you can initiate another jab faster. In melee, you could crouch cancel into any attack, which is why you could jab jab d-smash in melee. It doesnt work like that in brawl. They fixed it so you can only jab cancel into other jabs with a cc. You cant jab cancel into a d-smash or an u-tilt. By waiting long enough for the third jab not to come out, your waiting long enough for a new attack to be used. For that reason 3 jabs is much faster than 2 jabs and an u-tilt. It's slow enough that in most scenarios it will be avoided by good opponents. It should instead be listed in the mindgames section as a mix up that actually does occasionall work even on good opponents, but it's not a combo, and it's not jab canceling. You should also change the section for jab canceling to what I stated it was eariler.

And now that that's all out of the way,

Great guide. Really awesome. Definately the most in depth guide I've seen.

Yeeeeeeees, the jab cancel technicality thingy.

I noticed that. I love Jab Canceling into more jabs on small, lighter chars like MK, Kirby, Oli, etc., because they have trouble getting out of the almost endless string of jabs.

But the JabJab Dsmash/Utilt/etc. stuffs isn't a true Jab Cancel.

 

[ShieryuSilvr]

Let me get this clear: A,A DI crouch, A,A? Like that? And can it be combined with smash attacks?