• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Turnip Locking Breakdown

Bombchu Link

Banned via Administration
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
55
NNID
Arwing-Y
Okay, it's about time I made this:

Turnip locking; one of the Hardest Techs in smash 4, and the hardest for Peach mains to master.

Turnip locking is very difficult for a number of reasons, each character has different frames you can lock/ relock them at, and the finisher must be performed at different precent ranges:

First off how to lock:


http://www.youtube.com/v/BFhfj5RofZ8?t=1m50s

Locking has 3 parts:

Jump: You must jump into them with a shorthop, (preferably a running start) and throw the turnip down, this sometimes has to be placed well, but on most the cast as long as you hit them on the top or frontside, you're ok

Float: this is done directly after the footstool followed by analoging back and then Nairing to catch the turnip

Drop: finally you drop the float and (hopefully) if you did everything right you should have hit them with the sour spot of your Nair and regrabbed the turnip:

If you didn't catch it, as is states in the video, you can just do a finisher provided the sour spot of Nair locked them, like a half charged sweet spot racket if you're near the edge.

Also as a note you can still lock with the strong spot of nair at very low percents, (usually below 10)



I would highly suggest just trying to hit them turnip+footstool at first; Just go into quarter speed in training and develop the muscle memory to do this then after you're comfortable, add the nair, float back and turnip grab into the equation.

:4myfriends: and :4diddy: are very easy and great to practice on and :4peach: when you're ready to practice Fast Falling locks
:4marth: and :4mario: are a little harder and great when you're ready to move on.
:4palutena: and :rosalina: are Fast Fall locks with more strict timing.
:4zss: ,:4pikachu:and :4sheik: are very hard (but still consistently possible!), so when you're ready to rage just when you thought you had mastered the technique, take on these.



-----Locking Types------

There are different ways certain parts of the move have to be done to get the lock to work on some characters, you don't lock Villager the same way you do Gannon.

Full Analog Back: FAB

After dropping the turnip pull back on the analog stick and Nair to grab the turnip, then drop your float and keep holding back, the Nair should nick their feet and lock them again

Half Analog Back: HAB

After dropping the turnip analog back until you grab the turnip, then let off, then according to visual cues of you position you might have to analog forward again to hit their chest, this is usually done on smaller characters like Mario and ness.


Slight Analog Back: SAB

After dropping the turnip tap the analog back, this is only for Luigi because he's a special snowflake.

Stationary:

This works on heavies like Bowser at very low percents, after the footstool no analog input is required.

Half-Full analog back: HFB

This is performed on taller characters, it doesn't really matter how much you analog back as long as you do it some, but not to much, this works on characters like Marth, and Shulk.

Fast Fall:

These characters you simply drop the turnip, and then Nair fastfall onto them asap, as you go down you might have to
change your positioning to hit them, this works on Zelda, Palutena, and Peach.

Some Characters can be locked different ways, such as Fast falling, instead of half full back

There are other character that don't fall into any specific category, these will be treated individually later on; and some that require a HAB with the float being held followed by a fast fall lock. These will all be treated specifically below.



Characters the Lock Has complications on:

:4bowser:,:4megaman:,:4yoshi:, and:4pikachu: must be analoged back on about half, but the spacing is strict on these characters.:4pikachu: is especially difficult.

:4bowserjr: Makes you bounce of very high, so it's impossible to regrab the turnip; though you can still hit him with sour spot of nair to lock and the perform a finisher.

:4fox: slides alot when the turnip hits so you have to place the turnip very precisely to actually lock him I have locked him at 42%, but it's really hard to get the sour spot of Nair when it's dependent on where you place the turnip

:4link: and :4tlink: are very impractical to do more then once + finisher because of his shield, most of the time you can catch him of the end of a laggy smash attack or a hastily thrown boomerang so it's not hard to get it once, but after that it's not worth trying because you have to place the turnip so precisely.

After being encountered by the princess herself Palutena was wise enough to have:4pit: and :4darkpit: put grease on their wings so that after locking them, they slide VERY far away, it's difficult to lock them past 50% because of this and you need a LOT of stage space to do so.

:4dk:Is very hard because when you footstool him he spins around and it's hard to sour spot nair because of the very strict timing, though getting it in the first place is very easy because of his size, just go for a finisher in the first lock to net about 30-40%

:4gaw: Has a ton of complications from his low height: you have to fast fall on him to get the lock, but you need to analog far back to grab the turnip to relock him so it's not possible at all beyond 10% or so

:4ness: and:4lucas:are not possible past 10% as well because when footstooling, They're so low to the ground that you can't sour spot the nair.

:4olimar: is very similar to Ness, but he actually sucks you to the ground when you footstool him, by the time you float, you're almost on the ground and can't sourspot the nair.

:4sheik:Is very difficult, you have to HFAB, but the timing of the drop and Nair is strict as well as the spacing.

:4zss: Is the hardest character to lock; you have to HFAB, but the time you have to stop perfectly so you hit her thigh or butt with your Nair Once you have her down you can lock almost every character in the game.

While Locking :4littlemac:, :4shulk:, :4rob:, and :4samus: You have to hold your float until the turnip is at your feet, then fast fall Nair.

You pop out :4kirby:,:4dedede:, :4charizard:,:4lucario:, and:4jigglypuff:'s backside once you footstool him so it's impossible to lock and grab the turnip.

:4cloud: is kinda odd at first because he stands with his legs apart, you have to analouge back alot to get it, but it's possible. just kinda hard to explain except he's kinda like :4charizard: except actually possible.


Here's a table for reference, It's far from complete but I'll try to get around to finishing it sometime soon.

* means it can only be done once + finisher
N = sour spot of Nair is unobtainable

Most characters stop locking at about 80% and a single lock cycle does 11%

Character| Difficulty | Type | %lock ends (Nair Sour)
:4mario:Mario|
Medium|
SAB|
68
:4luigi:Luigi|
Medium|
SAB|
67
:4peach:Peach|
Easy
|
Fast Fall
|
64
:4bowser:Bowser|
Medium Hard
|
HAB
|
80
:4yoshi:Yoshi|
Hard
|
HFAB
|
70
:rosalina:Rosalina|
Medium-Easy
|
Fast Fall
|
60
*:4bowserjr:Bowser Jr.|
Medium
|
Fast Fall
|
70
:4wario:Wario|
Easy
|
FAB
|
71
:4dk:Donkey Kong|
Very Hard
|
Stationary
|
77
:4diddy:Diddy Kong|
Very Easy
|
HFB
|
66
:4gaw:Mr. Game & Watch|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
:4littlemac:Little Mac|
Medium
|
SAB
|
62
*:4link:Link|
Unpractically Hard
|
HAB
|
72
:4zelda:Zelda|
Medium
|
HAB
|
63
:4sheik:Sheik|
Very Hard
|
FAB
|
61
:4ganondorf:Ganondorf|
Easy
|
FAB
|
73
*:4tlink:Toon Link|
Unpractically Hard
|
N/A
|
N/A
:4samus:Samus|
Medium
|
HAB
|
71
:4zss:Zero Suit Samus|
Very Hard
|
HAB
|
61
:4pit:Pit|
Medium
|
HAB
|
67
:4palutena:Palutena|
Easy/Medium
|
Fast Fall
|
65
:4marth:Marth|
Medium
|
HFB
|
65
:4myfriends:Ike|
Very Easy
|
HFB
|
71
:4robinm:Robin|
Medium Easy
|
HAB
|
67
:4duckhunt:Duck Hunt Duo|
Easy
|
HAB
|
65
*:4kirby:Kirby|
Impossible
|
N/A
|
N/A
*:4dedede:King Dedede|
Impossible?|
N/A
|
N/A
:4metaknight:Metaknight|
Easy
|
HFB
|
61
:4fox:Fox|
Hard
|
HAB
|
61
:4falco:Falco|
Medium
|
HAB
|
62
:4pikachu:Pikachu|
Very Hard
|
HAB
|
61
*:4charizard:Charizard|
Impossible
|
N/A
|
N/A
*:4lucario:Lucario|
Impossible
|
N/A
|
N/A
*:4jigglypuff:Jigglypuff|
Impossible
|
N/A
|
N/A
:4greninja:Greninja|
Medium
|
SAB
|
66
:4rob:Rob|
Medium Easy
|
Fast Fall
|
71
*:4ness:Ness|
Impossible?
|
N/A
|
N/A
:4falcon:Captain Falcon|
Medium
|
HFB+Fast Fall
|
70
:4villager:Villager|
Medium Hard
|
SAB + Fast Fall
|
67
:4olimar:Olimar|
Impossible?
|
N/A
|
61
:4wiifit:Wii Fit Trainer|
Medium Easy
|
SAB+Fast Fall
|
67
:4shulk:Shulk|
Medium
|
SAB+Fast Fall
|
69
:4drmario:Dr. Mario|
Medium
|
SAB
|
68
:4darkpit:Dark Pit|
Medium
|
HAB
|
67
:4lucina:Lucina|
Medium
|
HFB
|
65
:4pacman:Pac-Man|
Easy Medium
|
SAB
|
67
:4megaman:Megaman|
Medium Hard
|
HFAB
|
69
:4sonic:Sonic|
Medium Easy
|
HFB
|
66
:4mewtwo:Mewtwo|
Medium Easy
|
HFB
|
59
*:4lucas:Lucas|
Impossible?
|
N/A
|
66
:4feroy:Roy|
Medium
|
SAB
|
67
:4ryu:Ryu|
Medium Hard
|
FAB
|
70
:4cloud: Cloud|
Medium
|
HFAB
|
68
:4bayonetta: Bayonetta|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N62
:4corrin: Corrin|
N/A
|
N/A
|
68
:4miibrawl:Mii-Brawler|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
:4miisword:Mii-Swordfighter|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
:4miigun:Mii-Gunner|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A

I wasn't to sure about Miis, as I don't play with them and don't have a really secure way to test them as their weight/heights might factor into them not being lockable.

Also big shoutout to Key313 for the lock percents; you can view his chart here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...hAW5TBnPc8ImAY7ejdFWpYv2k8/edit#gid=445149042


Alrighty now, that's great we have this info Bombchu, but how are we gonna get these setups to begin with?

Well..

-----Setting up the Lock----
The best way to set up lock is off of spot dodge.

Yeah, just run up to them with false arial pressure and QFR's then just pounce on them and lock away. by the time the spotdodge ends, you should have already thrown the turnip and it should be inside of them and they can't shield it then you get a free 60% if not a stock with perfect execution.

Another way to do it is of off an opponent's raw smash attack (like Shulk's Dsmash or Roy's Usmash) most smash attacks have enough cool down to get a lock on them.

In fact just the other day I kept punishing a wario's Fsmash with lock in friendlies, It's totally practical and usable in at least mid level play.

Easy.
 
Last edited:

Meru.

I like spicy food
Joined
Dec 24, 2008
Messages
3,835
Location
The Netherlands, sometimes Japan
NNID
Merudi
3DS FC
0963-1622-2801
Cool! Very detailed guide on how to turnip lock. It's a very difficult technique that needs a lot of practice, so your guide is very helpful.

Personally I'm still a bit skeptical about the turnip lock because getting a Dthrow Turnip in the first place seems next to impossible, but feel free to prove me wrong :p.
 

Bombchu Link

Banned via Administration
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
55
NNID
Arwing-Y
Cool! Very detailed guide on how to turnip lock. It's a very difficult technique that needs a lot of practice, so your guide is very helpful.

Personally I'm still a bit skeptical about the turnip lock because getting a Dthrow Turnip in the first place seems next to impossible, but feel free to prove me wrong :p.
Oh it's not impossible, I've gotten it on ranked players online before as well as at actual tournaments.

Mostly is comes off a hard read as they begin to approach, as I usually want a running start to get my lock going. I usually don't try it until the beginning of the second/third stock after I've observed their habits. I can get it really easy on FG gannons if the lag isn't to bad to me (because once you get the initial hit, it's all muscle memory from there).

It is an actual factor in certain matchups, like Ike and diddy that makes them easier.
 

Key313

Smash Cadet
Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
39
I've done a test on every character and made some notes. Guess I should post my results. Not sure why Luigi has it listed at 50 when it stops. It's normal and goes around 75 or so. It seems movement can effect things greatly. I don't fast fall when locking Peach or any others at all. I just move back a little. However taking your tip to fast fall I can now get Palutena down. I can't even get it on Pit/Dark Pit or Villager still. Tricky stuff. If they are not listed then I do it the same way it's done with Mario's timing.

Doesn't work (Or is too inconsistent.) on the following characters:

Bowser Jr
Donkey Kong
Mr Game & Watch
Link
Pit & Dark Pit
Kirby
King Dedede
Fox
Pikachu
Charizard
Lucario
Jigglypuff
Rob
Ness
Villager
Olimar
Mega Man (Works? Hard to get the fs.)
Lucas


Works with changes: (Based off of Mario's as that's where I first learned it.)

Yoshi: Must pull back a lot to get the soft hit of Nair. Quite hard.
Rosalina: Pull back just a bit for the soft Nair. Very minor change.
Diddy: Same as Rosalina.
Little Mac: Don't move for the N-air. Pulling back will give a strong hit.
Sheik: Do N-air right after the float. Has to be very fast. Pull back slightly. Hard.
Ganondorf: Might not be much of a change. Pull back a little.
Zero Suit Samus: Pull back and delay the Nair a bit since she is close to the ground.
Meta Knight: Pull back very far for a weak Nair hit.
Falco: Pull back some for a weak Nair hit.
Greninja: Not until around 10%.
Shulk: Pull back a bit and delay the Nair a bit since he is close to the ground.
Pac-Man: Pull back a little. Moderate.
Ryu: Must move back in a float until you get back on the starting side or at least close to it to regrab the turnip.


Here is Bowser and Yoshi being hit by a sour spot. https://youtu.be/_0-g7jZ0rco Maybe I should make one with how I get it on everyone.

I sometimes catch rolls/spot dodges with the lock or if they throw out something with a lot of lag like Ike's or Marth's F-smash. Very doable.
 

Bombchu Link

Banned via Administration
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
55
NNID
Arwing-Y
I've done a test on every character and made some notes. Guess I should post my results. Not sure why Luigi has it listed at 50 when it stops. It's normal and goes around 75 or so. It seems movement can effect things greatly. I don't fast fall when locking Peach or any others at all. I just move back a little. However taking your tip to fast fall I can now get Palutena down. I can't even get it on Pit/Dark Pit or Villager still. Tricky stuff.

I sometimes catch rolls/spot dodges with the lock or if they throw out something with a lot of lag like Ike's or Marth's F-smash. Very doable.
Actually technically G&W and Olimar are possible, but you have to wait a few frames from the footstool.. I think I'll do some testing later but imao it's not worth relearning the muscle memory just to lock two relatively unplayed characters.

Pit and Dark pit I can get consistently, I would make a video of me locking/showing you can't lock them all but I don't have a capture card.

Yoshi and bowser I guess have to be done like Mac and Samus then, that's good to know.

Also I think this method is more practical on ZSS and Shiek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkr7n3ecrFk


Most of my locks come off of spot dodge or smash attacks like mario's down smash, also if you catch the turnip and miss the nair, and they choose get up attack, you get another free lock on most the cast. :p

E: Dedede is a lot like kirby, but you can actually lock him? I did it once but I'm not sure how.
 
Last edited:

Key313

Smash Cadet
Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
39
Forgot to mention that when I mean it doesn't work it's either because you can't get a part of the loop or catch the turnip again to do it more than once. Otherwise it might work for a bit more characters. Suppose I should look at it differently.

I can get the footstool on Olimar easily but it puts you right on top of him so a sour spot is difficult if it's even possible. With Mr Game & Watch yeah the footstool is hard. That's why they are in that top list. Can't get back to the turnip on Dedede but can lock him once.
 

Bombchu Link

Banned via Administration
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
55
NNID
Arwing-Y
Did more testing and

villiger is possible, but the higher on percent he gets the more difficult it becomes, you have the float back then fast fall on him.
but at higher percents you have to float backwords th grap the turnip and then forwards, it starts becoming difficult to be humanly possible about 40-50%

Also wii fit is pretty much the same on male/female version, except the Fast Fall timing is a little stricter on the Male.

I didn't find Megaman super hard, he's identical to pikachu except he's a little less strict on the timing.

thanks for the help, and with that It's done except for Cloud and Miis...

E: wait, I saw that you can't lock ROB? the timing is kind of tight but you just have to stall the float and then fast fall into him, it's kinda easy for me personally.
 
Last edited:

Key313

Smash Cadet
Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
39
Guess I do it this way. Lock is just once while loop is more than once. They were in the top list because I could not loop them. Bad wording on my part because getting it once is a lock but was not what I was looking for.

Not using a fast fall on Wii Fit on my end for both of them. I just do it the same as I do normally like on Mario and such. With differences like this yeah I really will get around to showing what I'm doing. I'll try later today.

With Rob I can get the lock. Regrabbing the turnip or/and getting the sour spot for the loop is another story.

My problem with Villager and Mega Man was that I was not waiting a bit before tossing the turnip down after the jump. Could not get the footstool. I can get it now but it's slower to start because of this. Can loop Villager now. The lock is now easy on Megaman but hitting a sour spot for the loop is not. Have not been able to.

Kinda updating my list along the way of this topic. Palutena was on the list too but after doing the fast fall I took her off.
 

Bombchu Link

Banned via Administration
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
55
NNID
Arwing-Y
The thing is fast fall locking is usually the easier option because you don't have to worry as much about not getting sour spot of Nair, because most the time you start the nair before you fast fall, you just have to place yourself so you actually grap the turnip and actually fall on them.
 

Key313

Smash Cadet
Joined
May 30, 2015
Messages
39
Hm. Adding the fast fall messes with me. Could use some work on Palutena it seems. Didn't have a problem with the sour spot on Wii Fit.

Got the video for the loops. https://youtu.be/Kj9IKe4ZTcY
 
Last edited:

Bombchu Link

Banned via Administration
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Messages
55
NNID
Arwing-Y
Updated some info and rewrote parts of the Complications section to make it more clear.

Also It's completely possible to Lock Shiek and ZSS consistently, it just takes a lot of practice.
 
Top Bottom