Unreliable Grab?

[FirestormNeos]

Why is it that sometimes when I press the grab button, it ignores the grab animation and just goes into the shield? I've lost a lot of fights from Players and CPUs alike because it wouldn't let me grab when I needed it most. I'm using a Classic Controller Pro. Suggestions?

I understand that the shield appears after the grab animation is over, but that doesn't happen sometimes. It goes straight into the shield.

 

[TheGoldMan]

↓What he said↓

 

[DeLux]

You are holding the grab button too long so you are buffering shield instead of grab.

 

[FirestormNeos]

You are holding the grab button too long so you are buffering shield instead of grab.

I know it does that, but sometimes it doesn't show my character doing the grab animation. It just goes IMMEDIATELY into the shield. Am I pressing the button too hard or something?

 

[PKBeam]

If you press Z for too long during some sort of lag then the game reads it as a shield input.
Tap Z really quickly, don't hold it or use shieldgrabs.

 

[FirestormNeos]

If you press Z for too long during some sort of lag then the game reads it as a shield input.
Tap Z really quickly, don't hold it or use shieldgrabs.

Read my reply to DeLux.

 

[PKBeam]

Read my reply to DeLux.

You're not pressing the button too hard. You're pressing it for too long.
Tap it really quick (and hard if you have to).

 

[FirestormNeos]

You're not pressing the button too hard. You're pressing it for too long.
Tap it really quick (and hard if you have to).

But it doesn't show the animation though. It skips it.

 

[PKBeam]

But it doesn't show the animation though. It skips it.

Then you're pressing grab for too long, DURING LAG, so the game reads it as a buffered shield input.

 

[TheKmanOfSmash]

But it doesn't show the animation though. It skips it.

iirc, the grab command (Z on a GC controller) also maps to the shield button as well, since grab is L/R + A (not sure what it is for Classic Controller, but just replace L/R and A with what's on the CC).

Also, there are 10 frames of buffer in Brawl as I'm sure you know.

I believe you can buffer shield grabs because you're already holding L/R and the buffered input that is read by the game is the A button.

But when you try to press the grab button out of doing a attack or any kind of move, if you don't wait until the move is over, you'll probably buffer the shield. Since grab is mapped to L/R + A and doesn't have its own separate input, the buffered input that will be read by the game is L/R, aka the shield button. I think this is because L/R has priority over the A button since you have to press L/R first and then press A second to grab. Also, I don't think you can enter multiple button inputs from a buffer. Just one (though if I remember BDACUS, then maybe that's not the case.... forget I said that....). So if you tried to do a forward air or something and you wanted to grab after, if you grab prematurely during the buffer frames of the forward air, you'll get the shield to come up afterwards instead of the grab.

Also, as others have said, if you're holding the grab button for too long as well, you'll also end up buffering the shield for the same reasons as said in this post.

To get grabs after moves more consistently, train yourself to press the grab button after the lag of the move has worn off or intentionally buffer the shield with the trigger buttons (L/R) and mash a to get the grab out as fast as possible (aka the regular shield grab).

At least I this is what I think is happening. I haven't played/studied Brawl in a while, so I'm probably wrong in everything I said.

 

[FirestormNeos]

iirc, the grab command (Z on a GC controller) also maps to the shield button as well, since grab is L/R + A (not sure what it is for Classic Controller, but just replace L/R and A with what's on the CC).

Also, there are 10 frames of buffer in Brawl as I'm sure you know.

I believe you can buffer shield grabs because you're already holding L/R and the buffered input that is read by the game is the A button.

But when you try to press the grab button out of doing a attack or any kind of move, if you don't wait until the move is over, you'll probably buffer the shield. Since grab is mapped to L/R + A and doesn't have its own separate input, the buffered input that will be read by the game is L/R, aka the shield button. I think this is because L/R has priority over the A button since you have to press L/R first and then press A second to grab. Also, I don't think you can enter multiple button inputs from a buffer. Just one (though if I remember BDACUS, then maybe that's not the case.... forget I said that....). So if you tried to do a forward air or something and you wanted to grab after, if you grab prematurely during the buffer frames of the forward air, you'll get the shield to come up afterwards instead of the grab.

Also, as others have said, if you're holding the grab button for too long as well, you'll also end up buffering the shield for the same reasons as said in this post.

To get grabs after moves more consistently, train yourself to press the grab button after the lag of the move has worn off or intentionally buffer the shield with the trigger buttons (L/R) and mash a to get the grab out as fast as possible (aka the regular shield grab).

At least I this is what I think is happening. I haven't played/studied Brawl in a while, so I'm probably wrong in everything I said.

Does this happen in Melee or Project M?

 

[shapular]

Does this happen in Melee or Project M?

Neither of those has buffer so it isn't an issue. You'll just do nothing if you try to input it during the endlag of a move.

 

[FirestormNeos]

Neither of those has buffer so it isn't an issue. You'll just do nothing if you try to input it during the endlag of a move.

Oh, that's seriously tempting. On one hand, that's a really big problem I'm having. On the other hand though, I really want to be able to have button mapping (which I can't get in Melee) and I'm a total loser when it comes to editing a game's files.

 

[shapular]

Oh, that's seriously tempting. On one hand, that's a really big problem I'm having. On the other hand though, I really want to be able to have button mapping (which I can't get in Melee) and I'm a total loser when it comes to editing a game's files.

Don't bother playing those if you don't have to. You'll just have more problems getting used to having no buffer than you do from buffering the wrong thing in Brawl.