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Event - Nintendo Of America 2014 Time Mode Strategies

WritersBlah

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So, with Nintendo's new official tourney underway, we've read their...interesting ruleset. No stocks, single elimination, only six minutes to get the highest score you can. Obviously, this is very different from what the competitive community is used to, but for those of us who do plan on attending, why don't we discuss some strategies for winning matches under these unique rules? What are some ways you can secure kills? How can you snipe out players with high percents to make sure you can kill them before someone else does? Which characters are predicted to do best in free for alls? Proper item usage? I want to know what you guys think.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
The only strategy that's viable is luck. Basically, the fact that winning is revolved beast items, camping, and KO's makes the game a whole different playing field. The most experienced player that already got a good couple weeks worth into the Japanese version could get bopped by that ten year old that lives across the street from you.

Oct. 4th will be a day to remember, and my best advice is going in there with a winners mentality and exploiting predictable human actions.

My two cents.
 

Werner Herzog

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The best bet is to research the item list so you know which ones to scramble for and how best to use them, and to get good with a character that can more easily land early KOs. Off the top of my head that would include characters like Bowser, Little Mac, DK, Shulk, Link, and Dedede. CF's Falcon Punch is more likely to snag some knockouts in FFAs where other players are distracted by the overall chaos, same goes with Lucario and Samus's charged shots. Villager's pocket could be helpful, and though I can't speak from experience, Rosalina's gravity pull might be really nice to have. Pay as much attention as you can to other players percentages and who's leading the pack, and if you see an S-Flag, grab it at all costs.

Even in the best case scenario though, it's basically what Scotch said - ultimately luck is the dominant factor, and it's best to go in with a defeatist attitude. You're essentially playing the lottery, and if you can approach it carefree and calmly you already have an advantage against anyone putting pressure on themselves and over thinking it.
 
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Delta-cod

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It won't be purely luck based. The people who will do well are good at FFA positioning and general tactics, and will be good with items. Unfortunate things may happen, but I'm sure that the one who wins it will be one of the best in the room.

Practice item tossing, item catching, Insta-tossing, etc.

It's a tournament about finishing. Can you finish people off? Are you comfortable enough to go offstage and gimp people to steal kills? Do you know the best methods for killing with your character? If the answer to any of these is no, you have practice to do. If you can rack up damage but can't kill, you'll suck at this format. You don't have the luxury of forcing a percent lead like you do in our standard 1v1 Timed Stock Ruleset.

Edgeplay will be important. Learn how to work item properties into them. Learn throwing trajectories speeds. Learn item knockback properties.

Learn to recognize targets. Some guy just got knocked off stage? Go make sure he dies. Someone's approaching kill percents? Hound him until he's killed by your hand. Fantastically powerful item just spawned? Better go grab it.

Our normal skillset is still applicable. Move spacing, movement, staying safe, pressuring people, it's all still good. Stage positioning is made even more important in this format. You need it to grab items easily. You need it to get to your easy targets quickly.

Seriously, people, just learn to abuse the new ruleset. The game hasn't changed significantly, just your tactics. Item FFAs aren't nearly as randomly chaotic as most people think. There's a lot going on, but it's not random.
 

Zach777

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Since Delta-cod said everything I would have and more, I will go into character selection.

Be smart about who you choose, I am leading towards ZSS as she will get Smashballs better and get items quicker. Characters that kill early will beat scrubs but good ffa players will generally avoid them and wait for openings.
Tanks are genarally bigger and will just get beaten up more so their typical strength, survival, might not be as big a factor. Plus items can hit like mac trucks and will kill anyone early.

Campers won't have much room to do their thing and setups off projectiles will probably benefit someone else.

Comboers won't be left alone with their opponent so their combos will get disrupted.

Characters with multiple quick kill moves and fast running speed dominate ffas even if their lightweight.

Be smart about who you choose and remember that, even though he's good in 1v1s, your main might not be top tier in ffas.

Hope this helps.
 
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WritersBlah

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Judging by people's opinions here, I think the most viable characters will probably be Bowser, Little Mac, Zero Suit Samus, and Shulk (maybe Captain Falcon...?), to name a few. All these characters are quick on their feet, a lot have armor and good survival tactics, and have pretty reliable early kill moves.
 

Myran

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Judging by people's opinions here, I think the most viable characters will probably be Bowser, Little Mac, Zero Suit Samus, and Shulk (maybe Captain Falcon...?), to name a few. All these characters are quick on their feet, a lot have armor and good survival tactics, and have pretty reliable early kill moves.
Little Mac's recovery is garbage. Bowser can be easy to edgeguard due to his heavy wait and average recovery. ZSS is good, and Shulk is dependent on if the person playing can use Monado Arts properly.
 
D

Deleted member

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To be frank, I'd learn how grab items and throw them in certain spots and places, I'd practice stage control the most, followed by delivering kill moves and not getting hit.

Basic stuff, really. You have six minutes to get the most KO's or else you're done for the day, so stage control is a must, killing would obviously be a prominent thing, and item delivering would help too.
 

smashmachine

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I would probably use Bowser for the massive power of stuff like fsmash and Bowser Bomb, also know which items to get and how to use them
 

Gameboi834

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When the Smash Ball appears, try going for the fighters first rather than the Ball. Let them wear it down a bit then, knock them away, and grab it for yourself.
 

LittleKirby

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This seems a bit err... obvious, but
Remember to stay on the outside. Being inbetween 3 other players won't put you at an easy game.

ALSO ALWAYS GET THE BAG OF WINDS. ITS BETTER THAN SMASH BALL. 3 KO WITH NO EFFORT!
 
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