Q&A U WOT M8 - Shulk Q&A (READ THIS MESSAGE: PLEASE READ BEFORE MAKING A THREAD)

[Berserker.]

Does it not deteriorate with each unsuccessful counter as well?

Unsuccessful counters will also deteriorate the window

 

[Blazerator]

In the air, I've seen Shulks face one way but then air slash facing the other way. How do you do this?

 

[Berserker.]

In the air, I've seen Shulks face one way but then air slash facing the other way. How do you do this?

Input air slash then quickly flick the control stick to the other direction

 

[Masonomace]

So I've been spending tons of time with Shulk since i got the game, but I find i'm really hitting a wall when it comes to punishing effectively. I focus on tilts, grabs, jabs, and sometimes my fair and bair for quick ones. Smashes and Vision for hard reads.

The problem is fast characters like ZSS, Diddy, Fox, and well played Links and Marths have powerful attacks that can strike near instantly with barely enough cooldown for a jab. If they're in tilt range they can escape that before I land the hit, and even in speed mode a running grab isn't always fast enough. I focus on hitting them from the air most of the time, but shields make that difficult even if it's my only real option.

To add to the frustration, characters like Link, Yoshi, and Mario can basically DSmash almost for free against me. When characters are rolling a lot I'm hesitant to use it because it's been baited out of me by good players pretending to be rolltards.

TLDR: Every move with Shulk feels like a commitment while faster characters can walk away from blatant whiffs unpunished against him. How do I cope with this? What are my best options against these characters? I know i have reach and arts and holy hell i'm trying please help me.

The only way I feel I can help is if I play you personally. I had something typed to help reply to this for your questions, but I struggle with answering your questions. Sorry =/

 

[Zatchiel]

In the air, I've seen Shulks face one way but then air slash facing the other way. How do you do this?

Input Air Slash and input the direction opposite of where you're facing as soon as possible. I find it's easiest to do by holding up then moving the control stick to the nearest, uppermost diagonal in that direction.

So I've been spending tons of time with Shulk since i got the game, but I find i'm really hitting a wall when it comes to punishing effectively. I focus on tilts, grabs, jabs, and sometimes my fair and bair for quick ones. Smashes and Vision for hard reads.

If you're trying to punish opponents that are on the ground, unless you have a read or they are approaching you shouldn't aim to punish them with aerials (only exception being b-air). Your tilts are faster and in general (as Shulk) you place yourself at a slim disadvantage by being in the air against a grounded opponent since your aerials are pretty sluggish. You're going to be wanting to hold your ground more often, only going aerial mostly for defensive purposes since your aerials are also pretty unsafe on shield if you're not spacing them.

The problem is fast characters like ZSS, Diddy, Fox, and well played Links and Marths have powerful attacks that can strike near instantly with barely enough cooldown for a jab. If they're in tilt range they can escape that before I land the hit, and even in speed mode a running grab isn't always fast enough. I focus on hitting them from the air most of the time, but shields make that difficult even if it's my only real option.

To add to the frustration, characters like Link, Yoshi, and Mario can basically DSmash almost for free against me. When characters are rolling a lot I'm hesitant to use it because it's been baited out of me by good players pretending to be rolltards.

Again, don't focus your efforts on punishing from the air mostly. Try to get in grounded punishes unless you have a read, and use your aerials and up tilt to harass them when their feet are off the ground. Once they fear your range they might begin to airdodge more often, which you can bait and punish massively.

When it comes to your aerials, focus on hitting them in the air, not always from the air. It'll generally be a good idea to keep your feet on the ground unless you have on a mobility-improving art (Jump/Speed) or Buster (since your best aerials become much safer on shield with this art equipped).

I think someone else might want to touch on the match-up specific stuff.

TLDR: Every move with Shulk feels like a commitment while faster characters can walk away from blatant whiffs unpunished against him. How do I cope with this? What are my best options against these characters? I know i have reach and arts and holy hell i'm trying please help me.

How do you cope with it? Respect the fact that the character is slow as **** mostly; in general you're gonna want to be playing very defensively unless you're against a character that can camp you hard. Develop your patience mainly.

Hopefully this helps, it's all I can get in for the moment because I have to head out.

 

[Chickenmcdonky]

Input Air Slash and input the direction opposite of where you're facing as soon as possible. I find it's easiest to do by holding up then moving the control stick to the nearest, uppermost diagonal in that direction.


If you're trying to punish opponents that are on the ground, unless you have a read or they are approaching you shouldn't aim to punish them with aerials (only exception being b-air). Your tilts are faster and in general (as Shulk) you place yourself at a slim disadvantage by being in the air against a grounded opponent since your aerials are pretty sluggish. You're going to be wanting to hold your ground more often, only going aerial mostly for defensive purposes since your aerials are also pretty unsafe on shield if you're not spacing them.


Again, don't focus your efforts on punishing from the air mostly. Try to get in grounded punishes unless you have a read, and use your aerials and up tilt to harass them when their feet are off the ground. Once they fear your range they might begin to airdodge more often, which you can bait and punish massively.

When it comes to your aerials, focus on hitting them in the air, not always from the air. It'll generally be a good idea to keep your feet on the ground unless you have on a mobility-improving art (Jump/Speed) or Buster (since your best aerials become much safer on shield with this art equipped).

I think someone else might want to touch on the match-up specific stuff.


How do you cope with it? Respect the fact that the character is slow as **** mostly; in general you're gonna want to be playing very defensively unless you're against a character that can camp you hard. Develop your patience mainly.

Hopefully this helps, it's all I can get in for the moment because I have to head out.

Thank you. Shulk is difficult and I've had to pass a few hurdles like this.

The only way I feel I can help is if I play you personally. I had something typed to help reply to this for your questions, but I struggle with answering your questions. Sorry =/

I'd love to play you. Is there a thread for NNID's?

 

[Berserker.]

I merged your double post @ C Chickenmcdonky

 

[Masonomace]

I'd love to play you. Is there a thread for NNID's?

Indeed: http://smashboards.com/threads/you-will-know-our-names-shulk-player-finder.369186/

 

[Pentao]

So I don't main Shulk, but I do play him pretty often, and would like to be better with him.

I understand a general use for most of his Monado arts, but I feel that when I try to use Speed at low %s, I simply can't control Shulk very well to make good use of it. I end up just being very flow-charty (running SH n-airs into landing jabs), and I struggle with spacing due to the nature of the increased movement. Any tips to getting used to Shulk in speed form? I always play better when I stick to Vanilla Shulk until I feel like Jump or Buster is appropriate.

Typically, I've only had success with using the Speed Art if I want to deter projectile usage.

 

[Zatchiel]

So I don't main Shulk, but I do play him pretty often, and would like to be better with him.

I understand a general use for most of his Monado arts, but I feel that when I try to use Speed at low %s, I simply can't control Shulk very well to make good use of it. I end up just being very flow-charty (running SH n-airs into landing jabs), and I struggle with spacing due to the nature of the increased movement. Any tips to getting used to Shulk in speed form? I always play better when I stick to Vanilla Shulk until I feel like Jump or Buster is appropriate.

Typically, I've only had success with using the Speed Art if I want to deter projectile usage.

I sort of play Speed Shulk on the ground like I would play Sonic without spindash (imagine that), except our dash attack isn't as good and our pivot grab (and our pivots overall, I believe) is a lot better.

Run up -> shield is pretty remarkable, since it closes the gap in no time at all and you can do basically whatever you want out of it. Try to hamper your urge to go n-air happy/n-airplane Shulk just because of your aerial speed, but keep in mind that n-air is still a brilliant option in Speed stance. Dash dancing and perfect pivoting are severely strengthened; you can jump out of a dash dance in immediately n-air/pivot grab if an opponent approaches you while you do this. I like perfect pivoting for mindgames, but it has other uses that I have a tough time pulling off consistently or admittedly just can't do (I'd love PP up tilt I'm sure but I'm too stubborn to give up on smash stick). Pivot f-tilt and f-smash are also a lot stronger in this stance.

I'd strongly suggest going into training, equipping the Speed art, and just running/jumping/doing whatever around the stage to get a better feel for it. Hit reset or self-destruct whenever the art expires so you can use it again sooner. I still do this sometimes just to help myself.

 

[Chickenmcdonky]

Input Air Slash and input the direction opposite of where you're facing as soon as possible. I find it's easiest to do by holding up then moving the control stick to the nearest, uppermost diagonal in that direction.


If you're trying to punish opponents that are on the ground, unless you have a read or they are approaching you shouldn't aim to punish them with aerials (only exception being b-air). Your tilts are faster and in general (as Shulk) you place yourself at a slim disadvantage by being in the air against a grounded opponent since your aerials are pretty sluggish. You're going to be wanting to hold your ground more often, only going aerial mostly for defensive purposes since your aerials are also pretty unsafe on shield if you're not spacing them.


Again, don't focus your efforts on punishing from the air mostly. Try to get in grounded punishes unless you have a read, and use your aerials and up tilt to harass them when their feet are off the ground. Once they fear your range they might begin to airdodge more often, which you can bait and punish massively.

When it comes to your aerials, focus on hitting them in the air, not always from the air. It'll generally be a good idea to keep your feet on the ground unless you have on a mobility-improving art (Jump/Speed) or Buster (since your best aerials become much safer on shield with this art equipped).

I think someone else might want to touch on the match-up specific stuff.


How do you cope with it? Respect the fact that the character is slow as **** mostly; in general you're gonna want to be playing very defensively unless you're against a character that can camp you hard. Develop your patience mainly.

Hopefully this helps, it's all I can get in for the moment because I have to head out.

I took what you said to heart and started playing a bit less aggro. It's working nicely. I'm getting punished less and just reading he fight out instead of trying so hard to pressure and initiate stuff. I used to play Shulk really safe back when I first got this game, but then i watched Jerm's stuff and started trying to do what he does, not realizing that his chains were dependent on accurate reads and spacing. So basically i went back to basics and I'm finding i'm doing a lot better with him now. Thank you.

 

[Maple42]

To my understanding, Shulk has an inherently defensive playstyle; while watching tournament matches of Shulk, however, it seems that during the end of stocks, they like to switch to Buster. That is understandable; rack up as much damage as possible, since the stock is going to expire soon anyways.
When I play, I have taken a different route; alternating between Shield and one of the mobility arts (usually Jump) to stick around for as long as possible, playing similarly to heavy characters to wrack up damage for the next stock. I would like to discuss the merit of each option, since JumpShield has been rewarding as of late, but there are definitely enough people I've observed that go the Buster route that it merits more research.

Furthermore, when using the mentioned strategy, my matches sometimes run long; if playing by Sudden Death procedures, which Art is the most correct to switch to ~? I'd like to think it's one of the mobility arts, notably Speed, since the pivot grabs are easy enough to land, and back throw, NAir and BAir kill at 300% in Speed ofc. However, Shield may be another option.... I'm fairly certain that it is worth it against characters who aren't heavies, since their tilts should no longer be able to kill you. Also, being in Shield allows you to hold the actual shield longer; if you're surviving long enough in Sudden Death that the bombs start popping out, it takes three seconds for your shield to be small enough to not be able to protect you; that's three seconds longer than your opponent, haha. Also, from my testing (which may not be accurate, since I had to do it myself due to lack of training partners u w u"), your shield can take two bombs before breaking. I might be over thinking it, since the best plan really might just be 'approach with Speed / Jump and Nairplane your way over," but I adore exploring options with Shulk. There really is a lot to test, I love it ~!

 

[Zatchiel]

To my understanding, Shulk has an inherently defensive playstyle; while watching tournament matches of Shulk, however, it seems that during the end of stocks, they like to switch to Buster. That is understandable; rack up as much damage as possible, since the stock is going to expire soon anyways.
When I play, I have taken a different route; alternating between Shield and one of the mobility arts (usually Jump) to stick around for as long as possible, playing similarly to heavy characters to wrack up damage for the next stock. I would like to discuss the merit of each option, since JumpShield has been rewarding as of late, but there are definitely enough people I've observed that go the Buster route that it merits more research.

If I'm afraid of losing my stock immediately after taking one of my opponent's, I hold center stage and equip Shield. If I apply some damage to them and/or they just begin to avoid me, I switch the art off and go for a mobility art to pressure them into an undesirable position (into the air or offstage, sometimes just getting their back to the ledge is enough for me) before I switch to Buster and go for extending my lead more rapidly with sublime punishes from that position. The position where stage control is mine.

I wouldn't go for Buster immediately, depending on my percent, since some of Shulk's attacks in that stance aren't safe on hit at or around zero. An aggressive opponent will be looking to get your stock off as early as possible and can take advantage of that flaw. That, and Shulk is just easier to kill. But if you think you can manage, by all means go straight for Buster.

Unless you're reasonably on the verge of dying (which is match-up dependent, I'll say), I'd suggest starting their new stock off as you did the last. Feel free to switch it up of course, but if it works for gaining a more solid lead I'm not one to advise against doing whatever worked before.

if playing by Sudden Death procedures, which Art is the most correct to switch to ~?

Overall, Speed. For disrespect, vanilla or Buster. Jump lowers our defense so for mobility it puts us at a greater risk than Speed. The only actual setback from the latter in the instance of sudden death would be lower jumping height, but in most cases that's actually a plus since we can stay closer to the ground. The decrease in damage/knockback is nigh negligible in sudden death. Perfect pivots and dash dances in Speed are also incredible enough on their own for mindgame tactics, making it tough to judge when you're going to approach or defend yourself.

 

[Berserker.]

Just a tidbit, but rage increases knockback which pretty much helps in slightly alleviating buster's knockback nerf. So if you see that your percentage is let's say 120%+, it's fine to go on buster after taking a stock from your opponent. You can also go for shield. It's really dependent on whether you want to play it safe or if you feel like you're just delaying the inevitable with shield (in other words, go buster)

 

[Trent]

So. Random question. What's the best way to punish get-up from the edge? You know, the one that has like 1 frame to punish.

 

[Masonomace]

So. Random question. What's the best way to punish get-up from the edge? You know, the one that has like 1 frame to punish.

Depending on the Monado Art you have on, it can vary. General good ways of punishing it is to dash-grab in after you've seen them ledge-climb, or a spaced D-tilt from afar.

 

[Zatchiel]

So. Random question. What's the best way to punish get-up from the edge? You know, the one that has like 1 frame to punish.

Smash: Air Slash

Buster: Down smash (it can break shields; try to get a slight charge in so that the first hit doesn't get powershielded)

Anything else/all-applicable: Dash grab or patience. For the latter, just wait while keeping them in range of an f-smash if you're on the ground or a front/back aerial if you're in the air and odds are they will respect the threat upon getting up from the ledge. I suppose Air Slash could go here too. I just like it for killing in Smash stance so there's some bias there.

If they approach, interrupt it with a tilt. If they roll, smash or grab them. If they just sit there, bait them; passive dash-ins seem to work best for that, but walking and empty hops are comparably useful.

 

[NoMarthLeftBehind]

Hello all!
I'm an aspiring Shulk main and I've been getting seriously trashed on For Glory lately, especially on the 1 v 1s. Originally this was going to be a rant about how "ermagerd everybody but me is overperwered", but I figured that that wasn't true and I just need some help.

My main problems are against Charizards and Greninjas(on regular smash) and Captain Falcon(on 1v1).
I also want to learn how to resist against the knockback with these new, floatier falls.

Any tips and tricks would be nice, thanks for anything you can tell me!

 

[Berserker.]

Moved @ NoMarthLeftBehind 's thread to the FAQ

 

[Scarhi]

So. Random question. What's the best way to punish get-up from the edge? You know, the one that has like 1 frame to punish.

If I know they're going for it, I like catching them with an Upsmash. It's probably the easiest move to hit them with since the hitbox of the first hit stays active for a while. (I actually picked this habit up after watching some of JohnNumbers' replays)

 

[DiverseStyle]

Hey Shulk crew, it's been a while! Haven't been around, but I'm perpetually trying to improve my Shulk, even if I'm still stuck on the 3DS.

So I came across a few quirky things that maybe you already know about, but if not, let me know your thoughts (I apologize for the poor recordings):

Apparently it's possible to spot dodge Vision after a melee attack? I think what happened was when I landed and Visioned, the Vision was triggered by the very last frame of Falcon's F-Smash and he had time to spot dodge. Or he jabbed afterwards and Vision just completely missed and flung me across the stage. It was hard to tell what happened because of the light from Vision.

Next, MArt cancel is supposed to remove your landing lag, but I did not know it can evade attacks too, specifically Marth's Counter.

 

[Zatchiel]

Apparently it's possible to spot dodge Vision after a melee attack? I think what happened was when I landed and Visioned, the Vision was triggered by the very last frame of Falcon's F-Smash and he had time to spot dodge. Or he jabbed afterwards and Vision just completely missed and flung me across the stage.

If they are stuck within the time distortion field that Vision counter creates, then I don't think it's possible to get out a dodge within that time frame unless whatever move they used to activate the counter had extremely lenient cooldown. I don't know for a fact how much it slows them down but they would have to be able to move within the single digit frames after doing their move in order to get out a dodge.

In this instance Falco didn't dodge it, his jab makes him step forward a bit and to my knowledge normal Vision has a blind spot. So it appears to just be a horrendously unfortunate whiff.

Next, MArt cancel is supposed to remove your landing lag, but I did not know it can evade attacks too, specifically Marth's Counter.

It has a nice amount of invincibility frames on art activation, yes. It's lovely.

 

[Chickenmcdonky]

I just had a Fox player kick my ass pretty hard. He was good. Real good. But it made me realize just how problematic end lag really is in this game. Fox has almost none. Shulk has tons. His lazer forces you to approach and approaching with Shulk is barely safe as it is against somebody like him. Slightest whiff and BAM. Not only that, but Shulk's Ftilt is barely fast enough to punish a whiffed smash, it's not very good for stopping his rush down as he can roll away and then come flying back in the time it takes for you to swing it, and Dtilt has the same issue. Jabs suck against him because he has multi hits. He was also baiting aerials out of my by jumping around, fast falling, and shielding immediately. Best i could manage was a 0-0 stalemate for about a minute.

I managed to beat the guy with captain Falcon once. But that just further proves my point. In a game where End lag is such a big issue, it doesn't feel fair that some characters don't have to deal with it all. Every character should have at least one or two attacks quick enough to deal with this. It really feels like Mega Man and CF are some of the only characters who have an even mix like that.

Shulk's tilts need to be faster. If i can't punish fox or any fast character for doing something stupid, the character is too slow.

 

[ArchmageMC]

What do you have your Cstick set to do, Smashes or tilts? both have their advantages, i'm just curious what everyone has theirs set to.

 

[Masonomace]

Hello all!
I'm an aspiring Shulk main and I've been getting seriously trashed on For Glory lately, especially on the 1 v 1s. Originally this was going to be a rant about how "ermagerd everybody but me is overperwered", but I figured that that wasn't true and I just need some help.

My main problems are against Charizards and Greninjas(on regular smash) and Captain Falcon(on 1v1).
I also want to learn how to resist against the knockback with these new, floatier falls.

Any tips and tricks would be nice, thanks for anything you can tell me!

For Glory can have lag so it may not be the best place to truly test yourself for the results you want. If you have any replays of you battling against these characters I'd rather watch that & critique ya to help you out to the max.

Imo for Captain Falcon, you want him to take it to the air rather than playing him on the ground. I would imagine people recommending Speed mode for dueling against CF because of Speed's good air speed & ground speed, so you can really mix up your options & keep him guessing. Pivoted F-tilt & Pivot grabs can definitely keep him out including retreating N-air for spacing & zoning him.

I also want to learn how to resist against the knockback with these new, floatier falls.

I'm kind of confused what you mean by this. Do you mean Shulk's falling or the other characters, because Greninja & Captain Falcon both have fast falling speed, & Charizard's fall speed is so-so.

 

[NoMarthLeftBehind]

Thanks Masnomance.

What I mean by the "floaty fall" thing is that Shulk seems to fall slow, and slower than other characters from the the last games. I just need to learn how to cope with them; I got trashed by CFs because of them.

Also, I'll try to get a replay up. Do you want one of a win or loss?
(also I'm a bit of a noob at the boards, how do I get a replay from the 3ds to here?)

 

[Nammy12]

What would you say should be our getup options from the ledge?
I find myself sometimes getting punished but I'm not sure how I should mix it up.

Also, any tips for fighting Lucario? I always get kind of hesitant to use buster because of his aura.

 

[Berserker.]

What would you say should be our getup options from the ledge?
I find myself sometimes getting punished but I'm not sure how I should mix it up.

Also, any tips for fighting Lucario? I always get kind of hesitant to use buster because of his aura.

F-air, N-air, U-air (Can poke through the stage edge), Air slash or Vision

As for Lucario, moderate your buster art usage because racking too much damage will quickly send him into aura. Lucario before aura is fairly easy to deal with. If you really don't want to deal with aura, switch to smash and try to land a read with d-smash or u-smash near the edge (I'm sure air slash doesn't kill below 90% unless you're off the edge). ONCE HE REACHES AURA, he's still at KO percentage but Smash art is a no-no unless you're brave. Just KO with jump or speed from then on. A lot of moves from Aura Lucario become ridiculous so spacing is a must here (Force palm and b-air >_>). That's all I can say for now. This is a bit lacking but I tried

 

[Masonomace]

Thanks Masnomance.

What I mean by the "floaty fall" thing is that Shulk seems to fall slow, and slower than other characters from the the last games. I just need to learn how to cope with them; I got trashed by CFs because of them.

Also, I'll try to get a replay up. Do you want one of a win or loss?
(also I'm a bit of a noob at the boards, how do I get a replay from the 3ds to here?)

Yeah his falling speed is naturally kinda slow slash average. What I've bene doing lately is acting out of the hit-stun by holding down on the analog to fall much faster to the ground so that I can tech in place or tech roll away to get out of the situation if he's trying to be a combo monster. Usually what solves Shulk's so-so fall speed is being able to cycle to Jump mode as quickly as you can out of hit-stun & activating it so you can control your air speed with drifting towards the stage or falling down very fast & recovering with your Doublejump + Air Slash.

Any replay is fine. I'll watch multiple ones if you want to upload more. You'll need to record the match from your 3DS with a recording device like a phone's video camera or a webcam. Tbh I'm not too sure about that.

What would you say should be our getup options from the ledge?
I find myself sometimes getting punished but I'm not sure how I should mix it up.

Also, any tips for fighting Lucario? I always get kind of hesitant to use buster because of his aura.

Shulk's getup options will vary, because the MArts can affect their performance. I skimmed for Shulk's frame data on his ledge options but didn't find anything so I'm not too sure about that. Shulk's ledge-jump has the least amount of invincibility frames, but when Jump's active, ledge-jump becomes one of Shulk's best getup options since we could airdodge immediately after leaving the ledge with that increased height & the air speed to guide us out of trouble & more toward the stage's center. Anyways here's a list of what the MArts would make best:

• Ledge-climb -- Speed or Shield
• Ledge-attack -- Buster (Warning: Buster on hit or on block isn't much safer)
• Ledge-roll -- Jump Speed or Shield
• Ledge-jump -- Jump or Speed
• Ledge-drop -- Jump or Speed

Not that Vanilla is bad, just that MArts help.

As for attack moves like aerials n such, @ Berserker. has that covered~
════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Tips on fighting Lucario:
Never underestimate his Aura Sphere, Force Palm, & the Aura itself. You may want to be aware of Double Team with high Aura as well because it's a strong KO move & when it's reversed, it covers a lot of ground distance which makes it very hard punishing Lucario even if shielding the hit, or have Speed mode & run to his location. What I find most important & safe for Shulk's sake is really think about Smash mode. You must be absolutely careful with using Smash mode if you're not in the lead & you want to take a stock off of Lucario at very high Aura. A few mistakes may cost Smash Shulk's stock instead.

I personally avoid using Buster often against Lucario. Though getting a good rhythm going with Buster can be short n sweet & then you can transition to Smash to finish his stock. But if in any case you struggle with Buster & he rides the Aura train to get it rolling, it won't be pretty. Speed mode definitely helps the MU more but don't run into an Aura Sphere Charge, otherwise he'll shield cancel it & follow up from your next move in case you jump away or he Short Hops into Down air. Berserker covered a good amount but you may have better results asking a Lucario main, as I only Secondary Lucario so my MU knowledge isn't the best.

EDIT:

I forgot the most important thing; Lucario ASC'ing (Aura Sphere Charging) right near the ledge. If you're recovering to the ledge & grab it, be aware of the ASC because it defeats your usual ledge options such as ledge-climbing, ledge-jumping, ledge-attack, & ledgerolling because of him just firing it point blank at your back. This is where you mix up your getup options, but don't sit on the ledge too long because Lucario can shield cancel the ASC & run-off D-air you while holding the ledge.

 

[Berserker.]

Or you can watch that match of 9B and get a loose picture of the match up

Edit: I'd usually go for speed to play it safe also.

 

[DiverseStyle]

He was also baiting aerials out of my by jumping around, fast falling, and shielding immediately. Best i could manage was a 0-0 stalemate for about a minute.

I feel you, it's something I've struggled with for so long, Shulk's aerials being so easily shield-grabbed. It's kind of a contradiction because, ooh look at the range of that Fair and Nair, how can you not keep throwing them out!?

As for being shield-grabbed, that brings me to my next, slightly amusing, point. Maybe because I've also simultaneously playing Xenoblade to keep the Shulk-spiration up, for those of you who've played, you know his jump that's near useless in exploration? Well even though it probably doesn't do a thing I'm constantly jumping in Xenoblade in vain that I'm traveling faster and started doing the same thing in Smash. But the funny thing is empty hopping is a strangely effective way to bait out shields since your opponent will think you're going to Fair or something, but you can just grab them.

I don't know if it's actually a bad habit or not, but I'm constantly short-hopping and spacing with Fair, baiting the shield for a grab with an empty hop, or actually hitting with the Fair, whichever one I welcome. Wondering if other people have this approach too.

 

[BaPr]

How many invincibility frames does Shulk have when he switches to a new art? If it varies between arts, could someone give me the different ones?

 

[Chickenmcdonky]

I've tried it o

I feel you, it's something I've struggled with for so long, Shulk's aerials being so easily shield-grabbed. It's kind of a contradiction because, ooh look at the range of that Fair and Nair, how can you not keep throwing them out!?

As for being shield-grabbed, that brings me to my next, slightly amusing, point. Maybe because I've also simultaneously playing Xenoblade to keep the Shulk-spiration up, for those of you who've played, you know his jump that's near useless in exploration? Well even though it probably doesn't do a thing I'm constantly jumping in Xenoblade in vain that I'm traveling faster and started doing the same thing in Smash. But the funny thing is empty hopping is a strangely effective way to bait out shields since your opponent will think you're going to Fair or something, but you can just grab them.

I don't know if it's actually a bad habit or not, but I'm constantly short-hopping and spacing with Fair, baiting the shield for a grab with an empty hop, or actually hitting with the Fair, whichever one I welcome. Wondering if other people have this approach too.

I've tried it a couple times. It's hard to know when it's a good idea, as the conditioning required won't work on everybody. You can just as easily get grabbed first because Shulk's grab isn't all that special.

I tried mapping my tilts tothe C-stick like some on this forum have been saying. It's fantastic. It makes a pivot smash harder to do, but that's not something i use much. Pivot tilts are just as good in a way. So try empty hopping, but keep a distance and try swinging one of those out against some grabby dudes if you have that problem again.

 

[erico9001]

What do you have your Cstick set to do, Smashes or tilts? both have their advantages, i'm just curious what everyone has theirs set to.

I have mine set to Smashes because I fear accidentally Nairing off stage and killing myself.

 

[DiverseStyle]

On the note of punishing, Jerm uploaded a great video on Air Slash OoS.

 

[OwenMaster]

Normally when I use mario I use my cape to snap to the ledge is there any way to snap to edge with shulk to intercept my enemy

 

[Berserker.]

Moved @ OwenMaster 's thread to the FAQ

 

[Masonomace]

Normally when I use mario I use my cape to snap to the ledge is there any way to snap to edge with shulk to intercept my enemy

Shulk can only snap the ledge with the 1st & 2nd hit's start-up of Air Slash, Advancing Air Slash, & Mighty Air Slash. AFAIK Shulk doesn't have any other tools to snap-grab the ledge like Mario's cape or Mii Swordfighter's Reversal Slash.

 

[Theberzerker]

Shulk can only snap the ledge with the 1st & 2nd hit's start-up of Air Slash, Advancing Air Slash, & Mighty Air Slash. AFAIK Shulk doesn't have any other tools to snap-grab the ledge like Mario's cape or Mii Swordfighter's Reversal Slash.

Sometimes when I air slash, I seem to snap the ledge. But when I try to recreate it in training it seems to happen so random to me, more often than not I just fly past the ledge and open myself up for punishes. Got any tips?

 

[Maple42]

I don't know if it's actually a bad habit or not, but I'm constantly short-hopping and spacing with Fair, baiting the shield for a grab with an empty hop, or actually hitting with the Fair, whichever one I welcome. Wondering if other people have this approach too.

Along these lines, I'd like to discuss approach options; I feel that for Shulk, it's necessary to make your opponent question themselves when you hop towards them, due to the limited abilities of the character to do different things. As DiverseStyle mentioned, empty hop grabbing is great way to do that. By mixing the SH FF NAir and empty hob grabbing, your opponent essentially has to guess whether to shield or to attempt to hit you.
Are there other ways to approach ~? If there are more, it makes the mentioned technique even more coin-flip like, which is always a plus.