(Top players input needed) Smash veteran, never played Brawl.

[tharimrattler]

So i'm interested in playing Brawl competitively. I have a Wii, can buy Brawl at any time, but I need to know some things.

I never played a smash game competitively, although i did play each game for hundreds of hours each with friends. I'm very familiar with the general engine of smash, and the old characters moves.

My main has always been C. Falcon. However at this time I want to become competitive (the best) so I am asking for some info and advice from top players. I want to play the best character (or one that is up there with the tops), and I want to learn the intricacies of Brawl.

If I were to pick up Brawl for the first time today;

Who should I play?

What techniques should I practice (master)?

What should I learn in general?

What should I watch online to learn?

 

[-Aether]

Top players will most likely not reply to this thread.

As for competition, you probably are unaware of how little mastery of the basics you have, especially if you've never played the other games competitively.

You should be able to short hop, blindfolded, with every character consistently. It's easy in this game; learn to do it. You should play Meta Knight or Snake if you want to win the majority of your games. Besides that, you should go out, find 5-6 people who just destroy you in Brawl, and play them over and over again until you cry.

That is all.

 

[Dogysamich]

If I were to pick up Brawl for the first time today;

Who should I play?

What techniques should I practice (master)?

What should I learn in general?

What should I watch online to learn?

right now (and it will probably stay)

Snake

Thinking, brawl doesnt have technical depth.

Matchups. You're playing snake because there is no "impossible matchup" for you

Matchups. so you know what to do against what character.

 

[Nelo Vergil]

you SHOULD pick who your most comfortable with, but if your looking for the easiest time, Snake would be your best choice

you can look in his forum for anything you need to know for him, as well as youtube to look at how other Snake players play, though basically anyone you pick have alot of information in their specific forums that you should practice on

 

[Rapid_Assassin]

Play whoever you want. Or play everyone, that way you could always counterpick.

A lot of the players on youtube and similar sites suck. I wouldn't depend on it for getting better, since the best way to get better is to play lots of different people. If you can't play with people at the time, the best videos to watch for the more popular characters are those from tournament finals and semi-finals, since those people know what they're doing. If you feel like using someone underused, you might not find videos of someone good playing them but that shouldn't stop you from playing them anyway if you want.

 

[Vro]

One of the steps to becoming competitive is developing in your own way. It's great to watch vids, read the boards, and gather information about the metagame. But you should play who you're comfortable with.

For videos, try the Tournament Video section in Brawl's Media Forum.

 

[The PaTROLL]

Woman ill put you in the trash

 

[Kasai]

If you were to pick up brawl today, it would probably be best to first to play a few different, and diverse, characters so you could get used to the new physics and the more floaty game feel. If you're looking for an easy win, snake and MK are good choices but quite a few characters are viable now and there have been winners from most of them.

There aren't any truly necessary "brawl specific" advanced techniques but because you never played the old games competitively, there might be some key basics that you may have overlooked. Depending on the character you choose, you are going to need to short hop, RAR, you'll have to consider B sticking in some situations. There are quite a few character specific techniques but those, obviously, would depend on which character you pick.

 

[plasmid]

Sadly for you I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be C. Falcon anymore , but the good news is there are plenty of new characters to go around. Other than that just play whoever you like the most, for whatever reason you want (you can even stick with Falcon if you really want), and just play with them. Just play, thats the best way to get good.

 

[doodmahn]

Tiers really don't matter this early into the game, so pick whatever character you're best with. Tier whores FTL. BTW, I know that being able to **** your friends does not translate AT ALL at being good competitively. This is first hand experience talking.

 

[tharimrattler]

I am new to competitive smash, but not competitive gaming. I have been playing competitive fighters for 8+ years now, it's just now I'm considering smash since so many play it. I know I will have to play for many hours on end. I know I will have to lose A LOT. I know I will have to master matchups, and conterpicking etc.

I think I will pick up Snake, thanks for the suggestions. I was talking to a local smasher and he told me Wolf is good.

I will start practicing short hopping since that seems important. Grab/chain grabs since I heard thats important too, and I need to learn the physics of such things.

Thanks for the suggestions thus far, and please keep them coming.

 

[storm92]

I'm definitely not a top player, but I think I'll share my experience, because just like you, I came from other competitive games and played Smash for hundreds of hours with friends and had to learn all the competitive aspects.
First thing to do is to get rid of the notion that you know a lot. Because new people don't, even if you've played for hours on end. Learn the basics, as others mentioned, of the new physics engine in Brawl, read up about things, watch informative videos, and experiment some on your own.
Make sure to watch a lot of Brawl videos from the early tournaments, such as some that Gimpyfish has on his Youtube profile (you can just search his name). Watching videos of play, styles, and how to use certain characters helped me immensely.
As others said, Falcon is pretty bad in Brawl, but don't base who you're going to main off what you hear. Try out all the characters, and you'll be surprised on who you like to use/who you're best with. For example, I thought I was going to use Lucario or Meta Knight, but I ended up being a Kirby main and Sheik second (despite her nerfs).
After you've decided on a character, learn everything you can about that character. Go into Training a lot to get the feel of the moves, any lag at the beginning or end of the animation, IASA frames, invincibility frames, etc. Put some combos together and once you feel comfortable then take it to computers level 1-3, so you can put these combos and styles into play against a CPU which will react and attempt to attack, dodge, shield, etc. occasionally. Although lvl9s may seem the best to practice against, they truly aren't.
Meanwhile, go into your character's forum and read up the guide detailing strategies, the moves, and some have match-up descriptions. You'll learn a lot from lurking.
Most importantly, don't get discouraged or anything. The first few times you'll most likely get killed by a competitive player, but you get much better by learning from your mistakes and watching the better people play.

tl;dr, I know, but I wanted to help.

 

[ssbbFICTION]

Sadly for you I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be C. Falcon anymore , but the good news is there are plenty of new characters to go around. Other than that just play whoever you like the most, for whatever reason you want (you can even stick with Falcon if you really want), and just play with them. Just play, thats the best way to get good.

Falcon is still good, hes just harder to be good with. He no longer does epic combos FOR YOU, you actually have to IMPROVISE

 

[storm92]

Falcon is still good, hes just harder to be good with. He no longer does epic combos FOR YOU, you actually have to IMPROVISE

Not quite. You're right that he no longer does the great combos due to the SHFFLs of Melee, but the thing is that he can barely combo at all in Brawl. As there is no SHFFL anymore, hit stun has been reduced, and most of Falcon's moves nerfed, his comboing ability is low now. Even more than that, he doesn't have the pure fastest speed he boasted, he lacks an easy way to kill with the Knee being nerfed and Smashes laggy, and the fact he has no projectile and is outprioritized by almost all characters.
He's not too hot anymore, but he's still usable. Just don't expect to win tournaments with him.
Back on topic though...

 

[Heartz♥]

Some here may disagree with me, but if you wish to get an easy start, Pit would be a sufficient choice. Pit's attacks are both fast and strong enough, and his recovery move is fantastic, not to mention his two constant reflectors. If you get a feel with the more well-rounded characters, it would make it less difficult to master the more complex characters. Captain Falcon is both strong and fast, but his moves aren't as accurate. Not being able to land a clean hit would discourage you.

The more you fight, the better you get, of course. It is pointless to fight losing battles. You shouldn't rush into fighting the elites. Too much pwnage lowers morale, and eventually you will give up on mastering the game. A friend of mine experienced this demoralization. Practice with the CPU at Nasty level. Learn to use AND fight every character. Not having any real veteran experience from the game's predecessors will make it the most difficult for you. But nonetheless, starting from scratch may prove advantageous...

 

[tharimrattler]

Wow thanks.

Are there any Brawl specific advanced strategies, glitches, or exploits?

 

[Ayaz18]

im a tourny competitor, but not pro (i don't think anyone else is........yet), i can tell you that Falcon's game has changed for the worst, try to main MK and use aerials, oh an Dsmash

 

[Grunt]

Wow thanks.

Are there any Brawl specific advanced strategies, glitches, or exploits?

Side Stepping is Broken.

 

[Icy_Eagle]

http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=164597

This thread has pretty much everything you'd want to learn to improve your skills. You really should read it

 

[mR h0pkinS]

right now (and it will probably stay)

Snake

Thinking, brawl doesnt have technical depth.

Matchups. You're playing snake because there is no "impossible matchup" for you

Matchups. so you know what to do against what character.

Your sig is false advertisement. I really thought Misa Campo was going. Your seriously a butthole.

 

[Waddle]

If you wanna win easily, go with Snake.

 

[tharimrattler]

Side Stepping is Broken.

Please elaborate.

 

[Grunt]

Please elaborate.

in melee and 64 shield rolling was an effective way to safely retreat. however, in brawl, many moves hit out of rolls since there is quite a bit of lag after you finish a roll. this enables many long lasting attacks to hit right after a roll, or the opponent can grab you. the move implemented in melee (sidestepping; dodging and pressing down) wasn't all that great, but in brawl, much of the lag after a side step has been removed, and some characters have really long side steps (useful on long lasting attacks.) also, unlike shielding and rolling, sidestepping can dodge attacks and grabs with little-no lag after wards.

 

[Tenki]

Side Stepping is Broken.

Not really- unless you mean broken as in you're not invincible during the whole side-step/dodge animation.

Not quite. You're right that he no longer does the great combos due to the SHFFLs of Melee, but the thing is that he can barely combo at all in Brawl. As there is no SHFFL anymore, hit stun has been reduced, and most of Falcon's moves nerfed, his comboing ability is low now. Even more than that, he doesn't have the pure fastest speed he boasted, he lacks an easy way to kill with the Knee being nerfed and Smashes laggy, and the fact he has no projectile and is outprioritized by almost all characters.
He's not too hot anymore, but he's still usable. Just don't expect to win tournaments with him.
Back on topic though...

That applies to everyone though :x



@TC, if you stick with Falcon, just forget what you felt you knew in Melee, and relearn Brawl's version of the characters from the beginning. They're very, very different from their Melee counterparts, and everyone who's tried to stay Melee-style with their characters failed hard. Physics engine is different, many moves moves (including knee, d-air) and their timing are different. Play thinking like this: 100% is low. 130% is good. 150%, go on a field day with your kill moves, since most characters are "heavier" now

The general pattern is this: if you didn't use it in Melee, it's useful now.

In all actuality, Falcon's unstale moves kill at 110-120[no di] with his smashes, dsmash being his best ground knockback behind Falcon Punch, but there's no harm in dealing more damage than you need.


alright i'm sleepy and confused and have no idea what i'm writing bai

 

[Grunt]

Not really- unless you mean broken as in you're not invincible during the whole side-step/dodge animation.

not really broken, i know. it's just more useful than rolling this time around.

 

[Unusual_Rex]

So i'm interested in playing Brawl competitively. I have a Wii, can buy Brawl at any time, but I need to know some things.

I never played a smash game competitively, although i did play each game for hundreds of hours each with friends. I'm very familiar with the general engine of smash, and the old characters moves.

My main has always been C. Falcon. However at this time I want to become competitive (the best) so I am asking for some info and advice from top players. I want to play the best character (or one that is up there with the tops), and I want to learn the intricacies of Brawl.

If I were to pick up Brawl for the first time today;

Who should I play?

What techniques should I practice (master)?

What should I learn in general?

What should I watch online to learn?

I'd reccomend playing either Metaknight, Snake, Marth, Toon Link, R.O.B., Game & Watch, or maybe Falco. All are Pretty good.

For techniques, brawl doesn't a whole lot as of now. You'll definetly want to practice using Short Hops, Fast Falls, edge gaurding, edge hogging, maybe perfect sheilding. For more advanced techniques, try Dash Dancing (messes with your opponent), Fox Trotting (really easy, and you can F-Smash out of it). Some characters have a good pivot wave grab. Some characters benefit from wave-bouncing (Lucas).

Learn to read your opponent. Learn to play defensively, and offensively. Try to use mind games. Learn each characters spikes, and good killing moves.

Find a character you want to use and go to their sub forum, they usually have topic of either combo videos, or just general matches. Watch what they do and try to apply it.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sliq]

Game and Watch is a pretty good character. You don't even have to be good to use him. Just spam bair and all of his smashes, not to mention up b to dair. Do this all without thinking and you'll probably win.

 

[Dark Sonic]

Since you said you are picking up Snake, you should at least learn Boost smashing (well, Snake players call it motar sliding, but whatever.) Look it up. http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=164597

Some useful general techs to learn are RAR and Speed Hugging. Most of the other stuff is character specific, like Pit's arrow looping and up B stuff.

 

[nightSN]

stick with basics and move up, basics would be like short hop aerials, edge hogging, dodging... then move up to spacing. currently im working on spacing (:

 

[Crizthakidd]

get the game.
pick MK
????
PROFIT$$$

and that my dangerous friend, is how u win at brawl

 

[Foxy_Marth]

Play the character your best with... A character your best with, will certainly be better than playing a top tier character you dont feel comfortable playing.

Id choose a char with a steep learning curve. Like the Ice Climbers. You could do something great with a char like that

 

[Xaile]

There are a handful of characters that would be good to start with, but I'd actually avoid the ones that have over nine thousand advance techniques and tactics, maybe start with a character that's fairly straightforward (Mario, Marth, etc).

From there, after you feel like you are getting a feel for the game, set the character select on random and play whatever it gives you for a while. Setting it on random will sometimes give you a character that you love playing, that you would have never tried otherwise (that's how I ended up playing Dr. Mario in Melee), and that's the character you should put the time and research into getting good with and learning the crazier advanced techs.