• 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!

Using Sheik and Zelda

Narvath

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
4
Hello everyone, long time lurker but never really posted, my thread is kind of ambiguous and I didn't know if I should post in the Zelda or Sheik forums.

I want to make things clear, I'm not a high-level player, I've been in a tournament once but didn't go really far, I mostly play for fun with friends but we still are tryhards.

I have been playing as a Zelda main for a while, but recently I have been practicing Sheik for fun (mainly because most players advice on playing Zelda is "use her down-b as fast as possible"). I noticed I have an easier time building damage fast with Sheik but I can't seem to kill my opponent (not until like, 140-160%, where I could kill a lightweight at 65% with a well-placed Zelda Fair or Bair).

What I've been doing lately is to start the game with Sheik and combo my opponent until I reach a ~80% threshold (or when I have a safe time) and I transform into Zelda to give the killing blow(s).

I made this thread to ask you, first, what you think about this strategy and second, does anyone actually do that or am I just a scrub unable to finish anyone with Sheik?

I should say (or reiterate) that I main Zelda, so my Sheik is pretty sub-par and I find it easier to land killing blows or edgeguard with Zelda right now.

Note : As I said, we're tryhards even if we know we're bad, and by playing against my friend with this strategy, I noticed it catches him off-guard sometimes since Sheik and Zelda have different playstyles (Sheik is way more aggressive/looks for combos where Zelda has to be playing defensive and punishing) and I believe the switch in playstyles is asking the opponent to adapt his own playstyle on the spot, which could probably be used in my favor
 

ECHOnce

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
1,191
Location
Bellevue, WA
There should be no reason for opponents to survive to those %s regularly against a Sheik...her F-air and other aerials should kill most of the roster from long before they hitb 100% lol. Check some of the Sheik guides and watch vids to see what you may doing (veeerry) differently.
 

KirbyKaze

Smash Legend
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
17,679
Location
Spiral Mountain
Hello everyone, long time lurker but never really posted, my thread is kind of ambiguous and I didn't know if I should post in the Zelda or Sheik forums.

I want to make things clear, I'm not a high-level player, I've been in a tournament once but didn't go really far, I mostly play for fun with friends but we still are tryhards.

I have been playing as a Zelda main for a while, but recently I have been practicing Sheik for fun (mainly because most players advice on playing Zelda is "use her down-b as fast as possible"). I noticed I have an easier time building damage fast with Sheik but I can't seem to kill my opponent (not until like, 140-160%, where I could kill a lightweight at 65% with a well-placed Zelda Fair or Bair).
This is normal. Sheik racks damage quickly but her easy-to-hit combo finishers (fair, uair, d-smash) don't kill at particularly early percents. Without good edgeguarding to supplement your combo game, you're going to be killing people at much higher percentages than Zelda in general -- this is why finishing with fair (because of its awesome trajectory, that limits a defender's recovery options) and then following up with a strong edgeguard game is so pivotal to this character; it's one of the major ways she works around her lack of a super strong kill move like knee, ICs d-smash, or Fox up smash.
 
Last edited:

Kush Realty

Smash Rookie
Joined
Aug 28, 2014
Messages
3
my shining moments as sheik are when i get my opponent to a high %, transform into zelda, toe them, and then turn back into sheik. that is the only time i ever switch to zelda, terrible character otherwise.
 

smileee

Smash Rookie
Joined
Oct 17, 2014
Messages
13
Location
ohio university/columbu$
The only time I use transform into Zelda when playing Sheik is for recovery and storing needles when I'm certain that I'm going to die, and even those are extremely situational and I can't really imagine using them very consistently. That being said, Zelda is a fun character and if you're doing well with that strategy then by all means go for it; however, I would advise either learning to build up % with Zelda or learning to KO with Sheik (I would say that learning Sheik is probably a better option, but play whoever feels right to you or whoever you have the most fun as).
 

Random23

Smash Cadet
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Messages
30
Location
Southampton, UK
The only time I use transform into Zelda when playing Sheik is for recovery and storing needles when I'm certain that I'm going to die, and even those are extremely situational and I can't really imagine using them very consistently. That being said, Zelda is a fun character and if you're doing well with that strategy then by all means go for it; however, I would advise either learning to build up % with Zelda or learning to KO with Sheik (I would say that learning Sheik is probably a better option, but play whoever feels right to you or whoever you have the most fun as).
There's no real point to using zelda for storing needles. If you want needles that bad after respawn just use your whole invincibility for it, and then you won't get punished hard for transforming either.
 

ECHOnce

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
1,191
Location
Bellevue, WA
There's no real point to using zelda for storing needles. If you want needles that bad after respawn just use your whole invincibility for it, and then you won't get punished hard for transforming either.
Or...you could transform while invincible, which iirc adds on to your invincibility time instead of taking up your invincibility time. That way you can go on offensive with that time instead of wasting it to charge needles. But...at the end of the day, it's really not gonna make much of a difference unless you get a needle edgeguard right off the bat after respawn.
 
Last edited:

Laudandus

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
200
Location
San Jose
You don't recall correctly. They get a combo for free when you transform back, even when you're invincible. Doing the turn into Zelda then upB recovery is typically wrong unless it's your last stock and your only option.
 

ECHOnce

Smash Lord
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
1,191
Location
Bellevue, WA
You don't recall correctly. They get a combo for free when you transform back, even when you're invincible. Doing the turn into Zelda then upB recovery is typically wrong unless it's your last stock and your only option.
The context for transforming was that you're already too far away from the stage, and you're simply transforming to save needles for the next stock. Then you'd transform back during respawn invincibility. We're not talking about transforming for recovery. If you're saying that the invincibility from transform time does not add on to the respawn invincibility time, then my b lol, but otherwise I'd assume you'd be safe. Regardless, as I said using transform to save needles for the next stock prob isn't going to affect very much, anyhow, so meh.
 
Last edited:

Sempai

Smash Ace
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
614
Location
Wildwood/St.Louis, MO
Narvath, if your still having trouble killing with sheik at high%s there are a few of things to remember.

jab to f-fair
jab to dsmash
jab to grab
CC Dsmash
Nair OOS
Nair if you think they arent true comboing you. Keep them honest (it comes out frame 3)

Grabs > dash attack at high %s bc once they get so high, dash attack doesnt lead to anything anymore. Although fastfallers this % goes higher.

At high %s grab Dthrow still gets you a finisher, and with fastfallers you can always throw off stage at edge guard from there.

Also, There is one good time other then recovering, to transform to zelda, and thats for rest punishing. Fair and Bair are pretty good at mid%s. Plz dont fsmash tho :p

You said sheik is more aggressive, and zelda is more defensive and punishing. Try playing your sheik as defensive and punishing, you might be surprised at the results.
 

craisinsarelife

Smash Rookie
Joined
Feb 1, 2015
Messages
2
Lol I only transform by Zelda accidentally or to slow down my fall and/or recover at times that Sheik prolly couldn't. If I'm ever Zelda and I'm like on the stage, you can bet I'm fending you off until I can transform back lol.
 

Narvath

Smash Rookie
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
4
Narvath, if your still having trouble killing with sheik at high%s there are a few of things to remember.

{...}

You said sheik is more aggressive, and zelda is more defensive and punishing. Try playing your sheik as defensive and punishing, you might be surprised at the results.
Yeah well I've gone a long way since my first post. I find myself using more Sheik than Zelda nowadays, and I think the reason why I had such a hard time is because I tend to play characters that hit hard slow attacks instead of fast comboes. I play characters like Zelda, Roy, Ganon. My edgeguarding skills weren't really good back then (they still kinda suck but I'm getting better).

I'm still interested in doing a sort of "Shielda" (brawl lingo back then). It could be alterning between the two characters in-between stocks. After all, I think I just want to have some kind of "unique" playstyle (to compensate the fact that I'm bad at this game).

Also I'm starting to learn to wavedash with Sheik, I haven't raelly used this in a match before so I guess that's good.

Other question, what's the best out-of-shield option with Shiek? N-air? And with Zelda?
 
Top Bottom