Tips for a 3.5 newcomer

[Akkien]

I recently started focusing on competitive smash and decided to give Lucas a try as my main. Since I started right away on P:M 3.5 and most videos out there are from 3.0, I'm a little dubious about which techniques should I focus on or what should I be working on. As for today I finally feel like I'm able to wavedash consistently, and now that I want to incorporate more to my playing, I would appreciate if you guys could give me some tips on how to practice with Lucas in a more efficient manner: routines, techniques, kind of mindset I should have, etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[zFrost]

practice the hell outa djc's and dacus, also lucas' dash grab seems near useless now imo if you miss it u pretty much screwed, try to jump cancel ur grabs. practice wavemagnets *when they hit something and when they don't, they have different timings*

 

[20PK]

How does one go about DJC grabs? I seem to only be able to do the ropesnake that hits rather than grabs when trying.

 

[Badge]

How does one go about DJC grabs? I seem to only be able to do the ropesnake that hits rather than grabs when trying.

You can't DJC grab. What you're probably thinking of is a jump cancel grab (i.e. grounded jump instead of double jump). All you have to do is jump and then grab immediately afterwards, nearly simultaneously. You'll cancel your "jumpsquat" animation, which happens after you pressed jump but before you leave the ground and takes 4 frames or 1/15 second for Lucas, with a grab.

 

[zFrost]

i heard someone else somewhere mention djc grab too but i'm like uh..., so i wasn't sure if it was actually a thing or it was just jump cancel @>@, pivot grab is faster than jump cancel too btw it's a nice mixup imo

 

[20PK]

How can I be sure I'm jump cancel grabbing? When I'm not flubbing it (i.e. ropesnake attacking in a short hop instead) and grab I can't tell the difference between that and a normal grab.

 

[zFrost]

ur jump cancel grab should look like a normal grab, if u miss it it'll be a dash grab or an Aeriel snake

 

[D e l t a]

tl;dr check out my guide in the Lucas forums. Your post actually gives me the idea to create a mini-section on tips for beginning Lucas players

For now, know that Lucas excels off PKF -> follow up, so work on DJC PKF. Getting the timing down is key. It's something I worked on for the first few months as a Lucas main. PKF is a very useful tool.

Make sure to never dash grab. JC grab when running forward, standing grab, or pivot grab. Overall, Dash Grab is terrible

Consistent SHFFL aerials, knowing how they connect and how to combo with them. Lucas' aerials are amazing and can wrack up tons of damage just by knowing how they combo well.

Magnet timings for pressure and combos. How mag sends opponents and the follow ups you can get from a hit confirm

When to grab / atk / roll & wavedash OoS. Perfecting when to use the correct option saves you from getting punished for the wrong out of shield option.